


The Horsewomen of Pokemon: Sasha

by RelentlassHuggerSquad



Series: The Horsewomen of Pokemon [3]
Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Professional Wrestling, WWE, World Wrestling Entertainment
Genre: Baysha rivalry, Coming of Age, Cross Over, Frenemies, Pokemon AU, Pokemon Journey, Teenage Horsewomen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-20
Updated: 2019-08-07
Packaged: 2019-10-31 21:15:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 29,514
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17857064
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RelentlassHuggerSquad/pseuds/RelentlassHuggerSquad
Summary: Sick of living in her older brother's shadow, 14-year-old Sasha Banks is out to become the best pokemon trainer in the world. She won't let anything or anybody stand in her way either, no matter the cost.





	1. A fire inside

“It’s time to be a boss. You can do this, you can be a boss. You were born for this!” Sasha Banks mumbled, staring at herself in the mirror. Sasha felt like her whole life was leading up to this moment, the day she would finally get her own pokemon. It was in her blood to be a world-famous pokemon trainer. 

 

Her brother Dwayne was a pretty well-known pokemon trainer, everybody had called him the best at one time. He was famous for his bonds with the rock-type, so much that everybody started calling him the Rock. Sasha had heard stories, most of them from the man himself, about how he had never balked in the face of danger. It was a hard thing to live up to but Sasha was more than ready for the challenge. She was tired of living in his enormous shadow, ready to move beyond his suffocating fame.

 

She had been waiting impatiently, staring at her clock, willing it to be time for her to head out to the professor’s lab. Sasha was far too nervous to eat, all she could think about was selecting the pokemon of her dreams. She knew the options that she'd have before her, it had been constantly on her mind.

 

Truth be told she knew she’d kick some serious butt with any of them, but the perfectionist inside of her told her that Charmander would be her best bet. Sasha had a fiery spirit that would match the fire-type Pokemon. Her brother had been famous for his rock-type, but she was going to be famous for her fire-types. 

 

“You ready little sister?” Dwayne asked he walked around the kitchen making food for them. “Of course you are, I trained you well. It doesn’t matter what pokemon those other losers get, you are gonna be the best. Second only to the Rock.” He smirked, flexing his massive biceps.

 

Sasha just stared at him, before rolling her eyes. “I’ll be better than you Dwayne.” She mumbled, scooting off the stool. She was tired of wasting time. “I’ll see you later.” She said, ducking under her brother’s arm when he tried to kiss the top of her head. Sasha knew that Dwayne meant well, but his arrogance grated on her nerves. She made her way outside and took a deep breath, inhaling the fresh Pallet town air.

 

For half a second she was tempted to see if her neighbor Becky wanted to walk with her but then thought better of it. Sasha didn’t want any competition for Charmander, so it was best to go by herself. She made it to the professor’s lab, angry to find that she wasn’t first. Charlotte Flair was already waiting outside the lab.

 

Sasha burned with embarrassment, she hated being shown up. She hated even more, that her plan to be the first one there had been foiled by Charlotte. The blonde Sasha's blood boil.

 

“Nice of you to show up,” Charlotte commented snidely, a hint of a smirk on her face. 

 

“Well, I arrived when I felt my presence was needed.” Sasha shot back, internally cringing at how lame she sounded. Charlotte was almost as annoying to Sasha as her own brother was. Sasha hated being looked down upon and considering that Charlotte was an amazon compared to her, it was easy for Charlotte to stare down at her.

 

Charlotte snorted and side-eyed Sasha. “Your presence isn't actually needed, Sasha. In fact, you can just go, I certainly don't need or want you here.” 

 

Sasha’s ears burned and she spun to face Charlotte getting nose to nose with her. “What is your problem, you walk around here like you’re royalty. Newsflash Charlotte, nobody likes you.” Sasha snapped. 

 

Charlotte let the insult roll off her back, acting unaffected. “Better to be disliked than to have people fake being nice to me so they can get at my brother.” She fired back with a wink.

 

Sasha was stewing now, having not even noticed Becky slipping past them until she saw the door open. Sasha dashed inside after Becky, letting the door shut behind her and not holding it for Charlotte. She secretly hoped the door hit the blonde in the face, to Sasha it would have been fair retribution. 

 

Sasha paid attention as Professor Angle talked about the dangers the new adventurers would face, and what to be on the lookout for. She had always dreamed of going on adventures and making friends. Her brother had told her that friendship made her weak though, and Sasha didn’t want to be weak.

 

She had been friends with Bayley during their early childhood years, but then Sasha had gotten more focused on trying to be perfect and like her brother. Sasha resented that Bayley never seemed to take anything as serious as she did, and their friendship had pretty much dissolved. Still thinking of her former best friend, distracted Sasha enough that she missed Becky and Charlotte making a break for it towards the pokeballs. 

 

When Sasha arrived Charlotte and Becky were on the ground in a tangled mess of limbs and hair. Charlotte seemed to be getting the worst of it as she was on the bottom. Becky was straddling the blonde’s back while reaching desperately up at the Pokeball furthest to the right. 

 

Sasha watched as Becky seemed to almost get her fingers on it, just missing and causing the ball to go rolling. She could hear Becky and Charlotte both crying out for the ball, but Sasha’s full attention was on it as it rolled towards her feet.

 

“Yes!” Sasha was ecstatic as she bent down and picked up the Pokeball. She held it out to the side, releasing the Charmander inside. The second Sasha saw it, she felt her heart thudding rapidly in her chest, it was perfect. She could picture herself and Charmander defeating gym leader after gym leader together.

 

“Charmander!” The cute way it said its name snapped Sasha out of her little daydream and back to the present. Sasha quickly snatched him up in her arms, holding him tightly.

 

“I got Charmander!” Sasha gloated, before turning back to the professor to show off her pokemon. She didn’t want to risk Charlotte or Becky trying to take her new pokemon away from her. 

 

Sasha was quick to get her Pokedex and the extra Pokeballs from the professor before she walked outside, sneering at Bayley as she went. She walked a few feet away and under a nearby tree. She knelt down to inspect her new Pokemon properly. 

 

“I am glad I got you! You’re my very first pokemon, but don’t let that lull you into laziness Charmander. I’m going to be the very best, I am going to win every league I can. Will you help me?” Sasha asked, staring at Charmander with a stern expression. 

 

“Charmander.” Charmander stared up at her with big eyes, before giving a nod. Maybe Sasha was just imagining it, but Charmander’s tail seemed to glow brighter. 

 

“We’re going to have to be tough,” Sasha warned. Her brother had always told her that she had to be tough and assert her leadership from the get-go. 

 

Charmander blew out a little puff of smoke. “Char.” It said agreeing with her.

 

Sasha’s face softened and she tugged Charmander to her chest, kissing the top of its head. “I love you, we’re going to be a great team,” Sasha whispered, before putting Charmander back into its Pokeball. She didn’t want anybody else to see her kind-hearted demeanor towards her pokemon. She knew her brother didn’t become a champion by being soft, so she was going to try her best to not be soft or weak.

 

Walking back to her home, Sasha walked up to her room. She had forgotten to grab her journal, and she knew she'd need it. Writing in her journal about how she had gotten her Charmander, she was so lost in the action that she didn't hear her brother knocking on her door. 

 

"Which one did you get?" Dwayne asked, giving her a curious look. 

 

Sasha startled at the sound of her voice and then cleared her throat. "I got Charmander." She announced, trying to be confident.

 

Her brother actually looked somewhat impressed by her selection. "Ohh the Rock approves of his baby sister's choice. Charmander is a great start, you should let the Rock help you train it. I have a list of drills you could run it through, so you can toughen it up quickly." 

 

Sasha cut her brother off with a wave of her hand. "I don't need your help, Dwayne. I can train Charmander by myself, he's my pokemon. You already had your adventure, stop trying to ruin mine." Sasha said defensively. She didn't need her brother trying to take over for her. She hopped off her bed and shoved past her brother. 

 

"Wait! Sasha, I'm sorry! The Rock didn't mean to offend you, I was just trying to offer my help." Her brother said, actually sounding a little remorseful.

 

"I don't need your help, thank you for offering but I am fine. I am going to make Charmander the most powerful pokemon in this whole league. You're going to see my name up in lights, you can bank on that." Sasha called before marching back out of her house. 

 

It was time to get training with her Charmander and she didn't want to waste another second. She didn't want anybody to think that their success because of who her brother was. She was out to forge her own path, just her and Charmander.


	2. A sensation of sorts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sasha and Charmander have been working hard and now it's time to put that to the test in their first Pokemon battle.

“Okay, I need you to focus Charmander. Focus hard and then I want you to try and use your fire to make little bonfires..” 

Sasha was sweating hard, she and Charmander had been training for the better part of two days. Sasha wanted to prove that she was an effective trainer and Charmander to his credit hadn’t given up yet. The little fire pokemon had a fighting spirit that Sasha was sure rivaled her own. 

Though she had stayed near Pallet Town and the beginning of Route 1, Sasha was starting to get bolder. She had Charmander battle a few Pidgeys and Rattatas, trying to toughen her fire pokemon up. 

“I say we rest up and then maybe we can actually head deeper into Route 1 tomorrow.” She said, watching as Charmander was trying to follow her earlier instruction of making a little bonfire. 

After getting into the argument with her brother, Sasha didn’t want to go home. She had been camping out near the edge of Pallet town, bonding with Charmander. She found herself impressed by just how smart Charmander actually was, at night the little pokemon would keep close to keep her warm. He had even stopped a Rattata from trying to raid her backpack in the middle of the night. 

She was proud that no matter how hard she pushed him, Charmander would rise to the occasion and prove that he was determined. Every task, the pokemon seemed to just work harder and harder.

“Why don’t we take a break for a bit. You deserve it.” Sasha said, sitting down. She pulled out her canteen of water, getting herself a drink before pouring some for Charmander. 

Charmander drank its portion of the water, before staring at Sasha questioningly. “Char.”

Sasha was still getting used to Charmander’s personality, but she figured he was probably just as hungry as she was. “Do you want some food?” She asked, waiting for it to give an answer she pulled out her pack. “I got some jerky and berries, would you like some?” 

Sasha rummaged through her backpack, withdrawing some different times of berries and some jerky she had packed from home. Charmander ignored the jerky, instead choosing to take some of the berries from her. 

“Yeah, I like the berries too.” Sasha popped a few berries into her mouth, chewing thoughtfully. She wondered how the others were doing on their journey, she figured Bayley was probably making a lot of progress. Sasha had always been a bit jealous of how easily Bayley had bonded with wild pokemon during their childhood. She was also jealous of Bayley’s dad, Eddie Guerro was the coolest dad, Sasha’s own parents were to busy fawning over her brother. 

As if sensing the change in Sasha’s mood, her pokemon moved closer to her and pressed its forehead against her hand. Clearing her throat, the trainer pulled Charmander into her lap, gently petting his back. Sasha wasn’t a usually affectionate person, due to the fact that she wasn’t raised that way. Still, she felt a sort of kinship with the fire-type Pokemon.

“Did you have a lot of friends Char?” Sasha asked, knowing very well that Charmander couldn’t actually answer her. Still talking to the pokemon was a lot better than just talking to herself, which she supposed she was still doing in a way.

The pokemon did turn its attention to the path to Route 1 and kind of sigh. Sasha felt bad and kissed the top of her little companion’s head. “It’s going to be okay. When we win all the gym badges, we’re going to come back and I’ll make sure you get to visit your old friends. I want to make my family proud, all they seem to care about is my brother. It kind of sucks you know, living in somebody’s shadow.” 

If Charmander sympathized with her, it didn’t say anything. Instead, it took another drink of water, before moving away from Sasha to go back to the training task. Sasha appreciated the work ethic, but she was feeling a little lonely. She figured that the next day she’d actually set out and try to travel further along the route. She had heard there were a few trainers who liked to battle along the way and she wanted to see what her Charmander could do in an actual battle. 

The pair broke camp the next day and walked deeper into Route 1, Sasha felt like she and Charmander were ready for some bigger tasks. She tightened the straps to her backpack, not wanting another Rattata incident. She had recalled Charmander into his Pokeball and was making most of the trek by herself. 

She didn't want Charmander to get tired by forcing it to walk, besides she wanted to have the element of surprise depending on what type of trainer she came across. She had walked for a good half hour before she came across her first glimpse of possible other trainers. 

There was a boy a little older than her with slicked back black hair that was tied into a weird ponytail. He appeared to be talking to nothing, in particular, just spouting off random nonsense in different tones of voice. Sasha was tempted to ignore him at first, but as she got closer he turned around and locked eyes with her. 

"Ah!" The weird young man called out, startling her a little bit. "We've locked eyes, so battle we must. My name is Jason Sensation, prepare to be dazzled." 

Sasha just stared at him dumbstruck for a moment. "You want to battle me?" She asked, surprised by the fact that this boy was challenging her to her very first pokemon battle. Sasha had always dreamed of her first battle, but this was not what she had in mind. Nevertheless, she decided that she was going to win and start making a name for herself. 

"Yes, I want to battle you. Nobody else is around and I want some competition. Rattata go!" Jason said throwing out a Pokeball. The purple rat pokemon appeared a few feet in front of Jason. "What's your name trainer, so I might have the pleasure of knowing who is losing to me and my pokemon." 

Sasha arched a brow. "My name is Sasha...Sasha Banks and you can bank on the fact that you aren't going to win today. Go Charmander!" She called throwing out Charmander's Pokeball and releasing him. Charmander appeared a few feet away from her and took a moment to survey the scene before settling on Rattata. 

Jason seemed to gulp at the sight of the fire type pokemon. "You have an actual Charmander? I wasn't prepared for that, but I am not worried. Rattata use tackle now." Jason called.

The petite purple rat pokemon ran at Charmander trying to tackle it. It made contact with Charmander who seemed to hardly move at all. Charmander glanced at Sasha who was having to bite her lip to refrain from laughing. 

"Oh come on buddy! Rattata use tail whip." Jason Sensation encouraged, trying to pep talk the Rattata. He seemed to believe that his Pokemon had a real chance of winning. 

Sasha watched as all the move really did was irritate Charmander and make it sneeze. She had to admit it was kind of charming when Charmander sneezed out a little puff of smoke. Growing serious, Sasha knew it was time to finish this. 

"Charmander use scratch," Sasha commanded, watching as Charmander's eyes narrowed. Charmander obeyed, slashing at the rat pokemon with its claws. Rattata tried to get away, but Charmander knocked it out with a second scratch-attack. 

"Rattata no!!!" Jason frowned and held out one of the pokeballs, calling his fainted pokemon to return. "Enough is enough and it's time for a change. You beat us this time Sasha Banks, but don't count me and my Rattata out. We'll meet again." Jason warned, before clutching the Pokeball containing his injured companion and running off in the direction of the nearest pokemon center.

Sasha watched him go and then turned to look at Charmander. She knelt down and smiled, opening her arms to the pokemon once she made sure nobody else was around. "That was totally awesome! You kicked serious butt buddy." She said, praising her ally's hard work. She was proud of the effort that he had displayed. "You keep that up and we're going to win our first gym badge in no time at all Charmander."

Charmander's tail seemed to glow brighter at the praise and it snuggled into Sasha's embrace for a moment before pulling back. "Charmander?" It had a bit of a confused expression on its face like it didn't know what to make of the Pokemon trainer it had just faced. 

Sasha nodded slowly. "I think that Jason Sensation was an odd one too. Anyways we did a good job buddy, but we should keep on moving. Go ahead and take a good rest buddy." She rolled Charmander's Pokeball to it, letting it press the button to recall itself. 

Pocketing the Pokeball, Sasha readjusted her backpack and continued walking in the direction of Viridian City. She knew that due to her intense training with Charmander back in Pallet Town that she was a bit behind the others. As she walked along the trail, she knew that if she kept up a steady pace she could get a quarter of the way down route one by late afternoon. So even though she was power walking she made sure to keep an eye out for other trainers to battle and potential pokemon that she'd want to catch. She also needed to keep an eye out for possible places to camp.

It seemed that most of the wild pokemon in that area were Rattatas and Pidgeys. While the bird pokemon seemed closer to what she might want on her team, Sasha held off. She was fine with Charmander being her only pokemon, she felt like they were forging a strong bond and she didn't want to risk adding another pokemon to that dynamic yet. 

Sasha found her mind drifting back to Pallet Town, she wondered what her brother would say if he saw her first pokemon battle. No doubt he would critique her for not striking first and for allowing the rat pokemon to get in any offense at all. Sasha sighed and felt her mood souring, she tried to push the thoughts of Dwayne out of her head. Her thoughts shifted to Bayley, Becky, and Charlotte. She wondered how they were fairing on their adventures and if they had captured any more Pokemon of their own. There was no doubt in her mind that Bayley would probably be the one to capture the most pokemon, her former best friend had a knack for attracting the wild ones.

"We're really doing this Charmander. We won our first Pokemon battle of many to come, I have faith in our teamwork though. They aren't ready for us yet buddy, but they better get ready." Sasha mumbled, forcing herself to continue onward and deeper into Route 1 on the path to Viridian City.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you all are finding this story as enjoyable to read, as I am finding it enjoyable to write. Writing and fleshing out Sasha's character is a lot of fun for me.


	3. A hard lesson learned

“Come on Charmander, you can do it! Just a little more.” Sasha encouraged, watching as Charmander blew a spiral of flames towards a pile of sticks to make a small fire. Sasha beamed at the orange little pokemon and gave him a thumbs up. “See I knew you could do it. If we practice every day you’re going to be able to do all sorts of fire moves.” 

 

Charmander looked pleased by the praise before it hugged Sasha’s leg. Sasha affectionately patted the top of his head before looking around the clearing. They had made a lot of progress on the path to Viridian City, with Sasha only stopping to train or battle other pokemon. She hadn’t caught any other pokemon yet, but that was because for the moment at least she wanted to keep building her bond with Charmander. 

 

“I think when we get into the city, I’ll buy some potions, I am good on pokeballs, but I think we’ll need some provisions.” Sasha knelt down to start packing up their makeshift camp. “You can go to the stream and get something to drink and relax for a bit. Just don’t wander too far okay?”

 

“Char char.” Charmander gave her a nod and then scampered off to the nearby stream to drink some water and rest. 

 

Sasha cleaned up her camp slower than usual, she had been pushing herself and Charmander pretty hard to make it to the city and was feeling sore. Each time she had Charmander practicing little fire moves, she would be doing push-ups or crunches. Her brother had always told her that a weak mind would give up before her body did, but she didn’t want her body giving up either. 

 

When she was finally finished packing their belongings up, she set out to grab Charmander only to find some girl with a net trying to sneak up on her pokemon. 

 

“Hey what are you doing?! Charmander look out!” She called out to her pokemon. Charmander darted back to her and hid behind her legs glaring at the trainer who had tried to trap him. Sasha was also glaring and folded her arms across her chest. 

 

The girl looked apologetically at Sasha and Charmander. “My apologies their fellow trainer. My name is Kaitlyn.” The girl walked closer and extended a hand to Sasha. “I didn’t know this Charmander already had a trainer. I thought it was wild and was going to cry and catch it.”

 

Sasha stared back, looking skeptical but shook Kaitlyn’s hand. “With a net?” 

 

Kaitlyn shrugged her shoulders. “Why not, it’d give me the element of surprise.” She pointed out, before shrugging. “I normally use my net to catch bug types, but when I saw Charmander it was too much of an opportunity to waste. Your Charmander looks very tough.” 

 

A hint of a proud smile crossed Sasha’s features. “Charmander is super tough, we’ve been training hard. Do you want to battle?” 

 

Kaitlyn hesitated for a moment, weighing her options. “Alright, I’ve been training my Paras super hard.” Kaitlyn backed up a few feet, before throwing out a Pokeball and releasing her bug and grass pokemon.

 

Sasha stared at the bug creature, sizing it and it’s little body up. Sasha wasn’t a huge fan of bug pokemon but she also didn’t fear them due to her brother’s constant torment in her younger years. 

 

“You ready to do this Charmander?” Sasha questioned, waiting for Charmander’s consent before she nodded to Paras. “Charmander get that Paras!”

 

"Paras use stun spore!" Kaitlyn called, instructing her pokemon to try and stun Charmander. 

 

Sasha frowned, calling out to Charmander to dodge. "Don't let Paras stun you, dodge!"

 

Charmander barely managed to dodge the quicker bug pokemon's move. Paras didn't give up on the attack though, following Kaitlyn's order to scratch at Charmander. The reptilian pokemon let out a gasp of pain as Paras' legs scratched him across the stomach and arms.

 

"Oh no, Charmander are you okay?" Sasha was actually worried for Charmander. She had underestimated the bug type, but she wouldn't do that again. "Come on Charmander, you can do it! Use ember." 

 

Charmander had been practicing the move in training and while the flame that shot from its mouth was small, it was enough to burn Paras and cause it to faint.

 

"Paras return." Kaitlyn withdrew the injured pokemon and kicked at a pebble on the ground. "I actually thought my Paras had a chance there. Oh well, next time." She walked back over to Sasha and shook her hand.

 

Sasha gave a shaky nod, glad that she had won but embarrassed by the fact that Charmander had almost been beaten by Paras. It wasn't even Charmander's fault, Sasha didn't want to admit it but she knew she had a lot of growing to do. She crouched next to her pokemon, concern in her eyes when Charmander flinched at her touch. "Charmander are you okay?" 

 

Kaitlyn noticed Sasha's concerned expression. "Here since you won I'll give you a potion. Charmander looks kind of hurt anyways and I have a few extra." She stated kindly, kneeling down to spray the potion over Charmander's body where the Paras' crab-like legs had cut him.

 

"You didn't have to do that," Sasha said, her eyes narrowing slightly. "Charmander is tough, we could have made it to the Pokemon center." She didn't want anybody thinking that she couldn't take care of her own pokemon.

 

Kaitlyn didn't even hide the fact that she was rolling her eyes at Sasha's attempt to act tough. "Look, I have no doubts about how tough you and Charmander are. However, if I can help a pokemon in need, I will. I was doing it for him, not you." 

 

Sasha grumbled under her breath, appreciative of what the girl was doing. It grated on her nerves though that Sasha even needed help in the first place. She was going to stock up on some potions as soon as she got to the city. 

 

"Do you know how much further it is to the city?" Sasha asked, finally making eye contact with Kaitlyn.

 

The other trained nodded. "A twenty-five minute walk if you hurry. You should let Charmander rest. when you get there." Kaitlyn was trying to keep her suggestion kind, but Sasha wasn't in the mood to be pleasant. 

 

Sasha gave a curt nod and then snatched up Charmander in her arms. She cradled him tightly to her chest, not even caring if anybody saw them and took off running towards Viridian City. Even if appearances were important to Sasha, nothing matter as much to her as Charmander. 

 

Fifteen minutes later a winded and sweaty Sasha made it to the city. She rushed down the pathway, not even caring when she bumped into people. She muttered half-hearted apologies as she tried to seek out the pokemon center. 

 

Just as she was about to rush through the door, she ran smack dab into the chest of another person. The impact was enough to send Sasha stumbling back, causing her to fall on her backside but she managed to retain her hold on Charmander. Sasha grunted as she looked up, surprised to find none other than Charlotte Flair staring down at her. 

 

"Do you always run into people like that?" Charlotte asked snidely, she dusted herself off and sneered at Sasha who looked rather filthy. "You have a twig in your hair." 

 

Sasha frowned and ran her fingers through her hair, brushing the twig and some leaves out. She stood to her feet, feeling the need to explain her disheveled appearance to Charlotte. "I had to cut through the forest, Charmander is injured," Sasha said, nodding to Charmander who looked exhausted. Its tail flame was looking a bit dimmer than normal which had Sasha anxious to get past Charlotte and into the Pokemon center. 

 

Charlotte snickered and shook her head. "How pathetic, you spent this whole time stuck on that little path? While you've been wasting time, I've been here fighting real battles. My Squirtle is tough, she almost managed to beat Samoa Joe's gym, you could say we rocked his confidence and now Joe is off sulking somewhere." Charlotte commented, rather proud of herself. 

 

The blonde's words caused Sasha to hesitate for a moment. "You almost beat Samoa Joe? I was going to challenge him." Sasha knew that if Charlotte stood a chance, then so did she. 

 

"Please, like your little weakling pokemon could beat Samoa Joe. It looks half defeated already." Charlotte snapped, walking past Sasha and shoulder checking her as she did so.

 

Gritting her teeth together, Sasha turned around and glared after Charlotte. "Even tired my Charmander could wipe the floor with your Squirtle. Isn't that right Charmander? Besides he wasn't weak or pathetic when you wanted him!"

 

"Please, if he was my pokemon he'd be great, but I am glad I got my Squirtle. She's as tough as they come." Charlotte fired back.

 

Charmander was exhausted but it didn't want to let Sasha down. It didn't appreciate the way that Charlotte walking about its trainer. "Charmander, mander." His reply was even weak, but it wiggled out of Sasha's arms and tried to get ready. 

 

Charlotte arched a brow and shook her head. "You are really going to make your pokemon fight? You're dumber than you look. Go Squirtle!" Charlotte released her Squirtle from the Pokeball.

 

Sasha stared at Charlotte's blue little turtle. Its shell was freshly polished and it had a royal blue ribbon tied around its tail. Truthfully it looked exactly like the type of pokemon Charlotte would have, glamorous and tough. 

 

Charlotte was already looking bored. "Go ahead Sasha, show me what you got, I'll let you even get one attack in." 

 

"One attack is all I need! Charmander use ember again." Sasha ordered, only to watch in disappointment as Charmander could hardly produce any flame at all. 

 

The failed attack caused Charlotte to dissolve into laughter. "Aw, poor little guy. Squirtle show him some girl power, use your bubble attack." 

 

The female Squirtle puffed out its cheeks, blowing bubbles at the already weak Charmander, only stopping once Charmander fainted. 

 

"Okay enough, stop! You are hurting him!" Sasha's eyes widened as she scrambled to her pokemon's side.

 

"You're a lousy trainer Sasha. What kind of person let's their already injured pokemon compete, let alone with a type disadvantage come on Squirtle let's go find some real competition." Charlotte recalled her pokemon and marched away, leaving a defeated Sasha in her wake. 

 

The door to the center opened, revealing an older woman with short dark brunette hair who glanced at Sasha and frowned. "I thought I heard a pokemon battle going on. Outside of my pokemon center of all places." 

 

Sasha glanced to the ground sheepishly, cradling Charmander once more. "My pokemon is really hurt."

 

The older woman clicked her tongue and shook her head. "Fighting outside the Pokemon Center door is rude." She took a look at Charmander and then turned to go back inside. "Don't just stand there, your Charmander is going to need some care." The nurse chided, huffing in annoynace when it took Sasha some time to get moving.

 

"Who are you?" Sasha asked, following the shorter woman.

 

"Nurse Molly Holly of Viridian City." Molly took Charmander from her and handed the fainted pokemon to the Chansey that was behind the desk. "I'll look after your pokemon, you can wait over in the waiting room. Or use the bathroom to freshen up." Molly added after giving Sasha a sort of unimpressed once-over.

 

Sasha waited until the nurse took Charmander to the back before she made her way into the bathroom. She gripped the edge of the sink so hard her knuckles turned white. Tears of frustration began to stream down her face, which made her even more frustrated. Sasha hated being emotional, but she felt like she had let Charmander down. 

 

Letting Charlotte goad her into a fight had been stupid. What bothered Sasha, even more, was that Charmander had been willing to fight just to make her happy even though it was hurt. Her Pokemon had been insanely loyal, and Sasha felt like she hadn't been as good to him. 

 

"I am so sorry buddy." She swiped at the tears on her cheeks, hurriedly wiping them away. There was so much more she had to learn if she was going to be a successful trainer. Sasha wanted Charmander to be tough, but he could only be as tough as she allowed him to be. They had been training hard and even though they had barely beaten Kaitlyn and got trampled by Charlotte, Sasha was proud of her Charmander's progress. 

 

Sasha cleaned her face, trying to make herself at least presentable and not like she had been crying. She walked out to the lobby, waiting for Charmander to be healed. Letting out a yawn, she grabbed an old magazine and began to flip through it. Sasha hadn't realized how tired she was until she dozed off and found herself being poked in the head by a claw.

 

"Stop it," Sasha mumbled, blinking a few times until Charmander came into view. He looked refreshed and totally healed up, way different than how he had looked earlier. "Charmander!" She scooped him up, hugging him close.

 

Charmander nuzzled her back, curling up in her lap. Sasha giggled and kissed the top of his head. "I am so glad you're okay buddy." 

 

"Your pokemon is all healed up, but I'd give him a day before you start training like before. You both could use a break, maybe you should get ice cream or something." Nurse Molly suggested, giving Sasha a stern look. "Ice cream and a good nights rest will do wonders for the both of you." 

 

Sasha nodded and smiled at Charmander. "You want to get some ice cream buddy?" 

 

Charmander gave a little nod. "Charmander!"


	4. On the road again

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After hiding out in Viridian City for a couple of days, Sasha knows it is time to move on. She is now on her way to Pewter City with Charmander in tow, will they meet a new friend along the way?

Sasha Banks had spent two days recovering in Viridian City, trying to recover emotionally from the humiliating defeat Charlotte had dealt her. Truth be told, Sasha was dreading going back out and trying again, it was easier to mope than to acknowledge that her loss was her own fault. Due to pushing a weakened Charmander to hard and having him battle against Charlotte's fully rested team, she had suffered her first loss. She wasn’t a fan of humiliation, but she knew it would only get worse if she just gave up. Her brother would certainly never let her hear the end of her experience as a failed trainer.

 

She had been staying at the Pokemon Center, trying to allow Charmander enough time to recover while she hid out and stewed. Charmander was feeling better as evident by the fact that he kept wanting to go explore the city while Sasha wanted to stay inside and sulk. She had finally given in and taken Charmander to get a treat from the bakery in town. She had even gone shopping and refreshed some of her supplies by buying potions, a first aid kit, a couple of antidotes and an escape rope. She wanted to be prepared for when she eventually left the city. It was later afternoon when she made her way back to the pokemon center, Sasha had just entered the building she spotted a familiar face asleep in the corner. 

 

Seeing Bayley passed out in the corner had Sasha a bit concerned for her former childhood best friend. There was a moment of hesitation before Sasha walked over to Nurse Molly. “Hey is she okay?” She asked gesturing towards Bayley. Sasha was trying to play off her concern, not wanting the Nurse to think she actually cared at all. 

 

The kindly nurse followed the gesture nodded slowly. “Yes, I assume she’s just a bit tired. She’s quite the hero, along with her pokemon. They saved another trainer out along Route 1 if you believe the gossip she carried the trainer quite a ways.” 

 

That certainly sounded like something Bayley would do, Sasha wasn’t surprised at all to hear that Bayley had done something so selfless. Sasha glanced over at Bayley, knowing that the chair probably wasn’t the most comfortable of places to sleep. 

 

“Well I am thinking about checking out, Charmander is already healed up. She deserves the room and could probably make more use of it.” Sasha cleared her throat and brushed her hand against the Pokeball at her hip which held her pokemon. “I should be heading out, I need to start on my way to Pewter City.” 

 

The Nurse was surprised at Sasha’s offer but nodded. “I’ll be sure to offer her the room when her pokemon are healed and I wake her up. Do you want me to let her know it was you?”

 

Sasha rapidly shook her head. “No, no. There is no need for that, just let her have the room. I don’t think she needs to know that I gave her the room.” Sasha didn’t think it would be a good idea for Bayley to know, their relationship was complicated at best. They had been friends, but Sasha had been the one to effectively discard the other girl and she felt slightly guilty for that. 

 

Nurse Molly looked puzzled but offered a small smile. “Well, I’ll make sure the room is hers when she wakes up. Good luck to you and your Charmander, safe travels on your way to Pewter city.” 

 

Sasha quickly went to her room, gathering her stuff before bringing Molly back the key. “Take care,” Sasha called, before she walked out of the pokemon center, wanting to put some distance between herself and Bayley. Seeing Bayley asleep and without her usual peppy gusto had brought up feelings of regret in Sasha, but she wasn’t going to allow herself to dwell on it. Whatever friendship she had with Bayley was dead, Sasha had bigger things to worry about anyways. 

 

As she made her way towards the Viridian Forest, she released Charmander from his Pokeball. “Hey buddy, I know I said we’d be staying in town another day but I am thinking we should get a move on. Do you still want to go to Pewter City and try and earn a gym badge with me?” 

 

Charmander didn’t even hesitate, before blowing a little spout of flames in excitement. The pokemon had grown tired of lazing around town, it had gotten used to training hard with Sasha, so it missed the exercise. Charmander was evidently more ready to face the upcoming challenges then Sasha was, but his trainer tried to put on a brave face. 

 

“Alright then, I guess we should go then. We have about two hours before the sun goes down, we can set up camp in the forest. If we’re going to face Brock, we’re probably going to need some friends.” Sasha was already trying to think of what pokemon she could add to her and Charmander’s team to make them more effective. She knew from her own research that there was a multitude of wild pokemon in the forest, and Sasha wanted to find some of the best. 

 

“Char.” The fire-type pokemon was actually excited to have another pokemon to train and play with. Charmander was dealing with a considerable amount of pent up energy that he needed to burn.

 

Sasha patted the top of his head. “I guess it’s decided, do you want to walk or ride in the Pokeball for a while until I find some friends for you to battle with?” Sasha knew she could cover more ground with Charmander in the Pokeball but she wanted to give him the option. 

 

Charmander weighed his options, before deciding he’d rather walk. He had been cooped up in town and in the Pokeball long enough, he wanted to stretch his legs and get some much-needed exercise. 

 

“That’s fine buddy.” Sasha followed after him, more than ready to put Viridian City and her humiliating loss behind her. She had let Charmander get some fifteen feet in front of her as they walk, she was too busy looking around at the different types of pokemon to notice. 

 

Sasha heard a growl before a flash of grey and black fur shot past her and towards Charmander. She didn't even have time to warn her buddy before the streak tackled him and pinned him down. Charmander was growling back and scratching at its attacker, by the time Sasha had closed the distance. 

 

Holding out her Pokedex towards the other creature, it took a second before the device told her what had come after Charmander. "Poochyena - At first sight, Poochyena takes a bite at anything that moves. This Pokémon chases after prey until the victim becomes exhausted. However, it may turn tail if the prey strikes back."

 

Sasha seemed to realize that Poochyena was not actually biting at Charmander but actually trying to lick the fire-type Pokemon. Charmander didn't look all that pleased with the intrusion on his personal space and was trying to fight Poochyena off. Sasha tried to hide her smile and pulled out a Pokeball. 

 

"I guess this one wants to be our friend. Charmander use scratch." Sasha instructed, watching as Charmander was all too eager to obey. He scratched at the Poochyena, who yelped and tried to back away. Sasha quickly threw the Pokeball at it, not wanting to let the small pokemon get away. 

 

Sasha bit her lip as she watched the Pokeball shake a couple times, she was nervous that it might get away but at last, the Pokeball stopped moving. "Got you! We did it Charmander" Sasha said doing a nerdy little victory dance that she wouldn't have done if anybody else had been around. 

 

Charmander looked pleased and scampered over to the Pokeball. He sniffed it, accidentally opening it. Poochyena popped back out of the Pokeball and immediately tackled Charmander licking at his face, much to Charmander's disgust. 

 

Sasha giggled softly and tilted her head. "I think he likes you Charmander." 

 

Poochyena turned to look at Sasha wagging its tail before it gave an angry yip and circled around her a couple time. Sasha watched the weird behavior before it dawned on her. "Oh, you're a lady." 

 

Poochyena barked and rolled over on her belly, its tongue flopping out. Sasha smiled and knelt down lightly scratching at the formerly wild pokemon's tummy. "I think that's what I am going to call you then Lady, do you like it?" Sasha asked, laughing when the grey and black pokemon stumbled to get up and started barking. Lady lept at Sasha, trying to lick her hand. 

 

Charmander settled against Sasha's side, still trying to make heads or tails of Poochyena. "Char...Charmander." He finally pressed his head against Lady's, welcoming her to the team. 

 

Sasha glanced at her two pokemon, feeling a lot more optimistic than she had when they set out earlier. "Let's just make camp here, we can start training in the morning and then try to make it to Pewter City." She looked to Charmander and smiled. "You can help me unpack the camp, Lady why don't you go and try and collect sticks so Charmander can make a fire to keep us warm tonight." 

 

The two pokemon obeyed, leaving Sasha alone to think for a few minutes. She silently made a vow to herself that when she saw Charlotte again, the results of the battle would be different. Sasha was going to train Lady and Charmander to the best of her abilities and earn her first gym badge before she faced Charlotte again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everybody who is reading this story and series. I hope you all are enjoying it! Make sure to check out my co-writer AttackPlatypus and his awesome stories. You won't be disappointed trust me, he's a phenomenal writer. I am curious though, what pokemon would you as the readers like to see? What professional wrestling superstars would you like to see in this universe? Who's your favorite character or pokemon so far? Feedback is always appreciated.


	5. A rocky battle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sasha challenges for her first gym badge, can she win with a type-disadvantage?

Sasha Banks was a little winded, to say the least, she had raced her newest pokemon Poochyena the last half mile to Pewter city. Lady who was running on four legs wasn’t winded at all and kept licking at Sasha’s hand. The trainer was down on a knee, trying to suck in some much-needed oxygen. Her lungs were still burning with the strain and she gently flopped down on her back. The cool grass on her back felt like heaven. 

 

Lady gave her a quizzical look and licked her cheek. _“Poochyena.”_ Lady gave a little growl and tugged at Sasha’s shirt with her teeth, clearly wanting to play. Though the pokemon had won, she clearly was ready for another race.

 

“Give me a minute.” Sasha painted, lightly pushing her pokemon a few inches back. Poochyena just stared at her before scratching at its ear that had flopped over.

 

When Sasha felt she was recovered enough, she managed to sit up and released Charmander from his Pokeball. Charmander hadn’t wanted to participate in the silly race but was happy to be out of the Pokeball and in Pewter city. He took in the sight of the winded trainer and playful pokemon puppy and seemed to just shake his head.

 

“Well we made it, I think I want to take a shower and rest you both before we take on the gym. What do you two think?” Sasha asked, wanting to know if her two pokemon were up for the task of facing the gym trainer. 

 

_“Char.”_ Charmander gave a nod, Poochyena for her part just rolled onto her back giving a little bark in reply. 

 

Sasha cracked a smile. “Alright then, let’s rest up and focus. We’re going to need to give it our best shot if we want that gym badge.” She knew Charmander would come through for her, she just hoped Poochyena would do the same. 

 

Walking the two pokemon to the pokemon center, she checked them in to get a quick rest. Sasha herself needed a little bit of a nap and was all too willing to go freshen up in the bathroom. She tied her hair in a braid, getting it off her sweaty neck. 

 

As she made her way out of the bathroom, she sat down to rest in one of the chairs. She was about to grab a magazine when a familiar face on the front page of the newspaper caught her attention. She snatched up the paper, wondering what Bayley had possibly done to deserve a front page news story. 

 

Sasha’s found herself reading the story in disbelief as it talked about Bayley being a hero not only for saving Becky Lynch but also helping Viridian City by capturing a Grimer. The article detailed how much of a nuisance pokemon like Grimer and Koffing could be. Sasha set the paper down and just shook her head. Of course, Bayley would become famous for being a good person. Deep down Sasha was proud of her former friend, but she waved those thoughts away. 

 

Sasha didn’t want to dwell on Bayley’s successes, she wanted to find some success of her own. Sasha had spent so long in her brother's shadow, she didn't need to be in anybody else's including Bayley's. She looked up as Nurse Molly signaled to her that her pokemon were ready. Grabbing her pokemon, she gave a thankful nod and then walked to the gym. 

 

The gym was a bit imposing, but Sasha was prepared. She had trained hard along with her pokemon for this moment, the gym badge was going to be hers. Sasha checked her backpack one last time, making sure she had some extra revives and potions to heal her pokemon just in case.

 

Making her way into the gym, she found herself face to face with a smirking, bald-headed teenager in a suit. “Welcome to Pewter City Gym, my name is Baron Corbin, are you ready to lose?” He asked, already thinking she’d be an easy target.

 

Sasha wrinkled her nose, not happy with the boy’s arrogant attitude. “We’ll see who is going to lose. How many pokemon are we using?”

 

Baron snorted and just shook his head. “We’ll use one pokemon. Just don’t go crying back to your mommy when I beat you, little girl.” 

 

“Why don’t you shut up and let’s battle.” Sasha hated his arrogant demeanor and she wanted to beat the smirk off his face. 

 

“As you wish princess.” Baron threw out his first Pokeball, a Diglett appearing in the spot. 

 

Sasha took a deep breath, before throwing out her Poochyena’s Pokeball. “Come on Lady, it’s time to show him what girls can do!” The Poochyena appeared from inside the Pokeball, wagging her tail and looking 

 

“Diglett, use your sand attack,” Baron ordered, watching as the brown pokemon some sand up and started flinging it at Poochyena. 

 

_"Diglett, dig."_

 

Sasha shielded her eyes, coughing as some of the sand was thrown in her direction. It seemed like Lady was mostly immune to sand attack, which Sasha was thankful for. Deciding to just go for it, Sasha told Lady to go for it and bite Diglett. 

 

_“Poochyeeena,”_ Lady growled, launching herself at Diglett and biting at the other pokemon’s side. 

 

Baron was about to order Diglett to use dig and get away from the other pokemon, but Diglett passed out before he could. He let out a disgusted sigh and recalled his fallen pokemon. “Beginners luck, I’d demand a rematch but it’d be a waste of my time. Good luck against Braun, he’ll crush you.” Baron muttered, before handing over the loser’s fee to Sasha. 

 

Sasha rolled her eyes and pocketed the money, before smiling at her pokemon. “Good job Lady, way to show him that girls rule and boys drool.” She ruffled the pokemon’s fur, before recalling the Poochyena. She was proud of the job her pokemon had done, a victory against a punk like Corbin deserved to be celebrated. 

 

Corbin started to say something, but Sasha just smirked and waved him off. She didn't have time to deal with his ego. Walking further into the gym, Sasha found herself fascinated. She could see various rock-type pokemon work and sparring, it was all impressive to her if not a little intimidating. Still, she wanted to see if she could get a win against the gym leader Braun. 

 

"So you beat Corbin? Well he is weaker than me, but I'll be happy to take on a new challenger, I was growing bored of just fighting him." 

 

Sasha froze as a voice called out to her from down a large darkened rock corridor. Slowly emerging from the shadows was a mountain of a man. "Are you Braun, I'm Sasha." Sasha stammered, embarrassed by the way her voice seemed to squeak. 

 

Braun let out a laugh and nodded. "Yes little lady, I am Braun Strowman, leader of the Pewter City gym. Are you ready, too... Get. These. Hands?"

 

Sasha just stared at him, slowly raising an eyebrow. "I'm ready to battle, let's do this then." 

 

"I like your forwardness kid, let's see what you got. We can use two pokemon each. Go Graveler." Braun said throwing out the rock-type pokemon. 

 

Sasha took a deep breath, knowing that neither her Charmander or Poochyena would have an advantage. "Lady, I choose you again. It's Boss time." Sasha said, trying to challenge her inner-ego as her brother would. There was no time to back down, she had to be strong. 

 

The Poochyena appeared again, she didn't even appear frightened by the rock pokemon. _"Chyena."_ The pokemon growled, going into a sort of pounce position. 

 

Braun laughed at Sasha's little pokemon. "Graveler use tackle and end this quickly."

 

Sasha loathed being underestimated and looked down on. "Lady, use a tackle of your own. Show him who is stronger." 

 

The two pokemon collided in a big crash in the middle of the arena, both trying to tackle and pin the other. The force of them hitting each other, knocked them both back. 

 

"Come on Lady! Use bite!" Sasha urged, wanting Poochyena to prove that it was the stronger pokemon. 

 

Eager to please her trainer, Poochyena attempted to latch onto Graveler's arm, biting down hard. 

 

The Graveler winced, letting out a cry of pain. It glanced to Braun who gave it a solemn nod. "Graveler use Self-Destruct!" Braun ordered, knowing it would take itself out of the match along with Sasha's Pokemon. 

 

Sasha's eyes widened in shock at Braun's sacrificial play. She lifted her Pokeball, unable to watch as Graveler used Self-Destruct. She withdrew her fainted Poochyena and shook her head. 

 

"You did a good job Lady, nothing to be ashamed of. Good fight." Sasha whispered before pocketing the Pokeball. 

 

"Consider me impressed little girl, but if you want the Boulder Badge you're going to have to try harder." Braun taunted, before throwing out an Onix. "Onix finish her!"

 

Having only Charmander left, Sasha hesitated. She knew for a fact that Charmander had a huge disadvantage against a pokemon like Onix. She remembered that Charmander had fought like that before against Charlotte, she didn't want to see her buddy get hurt again. 

 

"Charmander go," Sasha called, releasing the fire-type from the Pokeball. She knelt down next to him. "You don't have to fight if you don't want too. It won't be easy but I believe in you."

 

Charmander stared at Sasha, before looking to Onix. _"Char-char!"_ Charmander didn't even hesitate, running out onto the battlefield to fight for Sasha out of loyalty.

 

"You are putting a weak Charmander against Onix? You must be foolish or stupid, either way, Onix use Bind." 

 

"We can do this Charmander. Use Smoke-screen, don't let him find you." Sasha called, watching as Charmander dodged Onix's attempt to bind him. He released a dense smoke cloud from his mouth, making it harder to see. 

 

Sasha winced as she heard a heavy thudding sound, thinking that perhaps Onix had somehow managed to grab onto Charmander. "Charmander if you can use Ember just like we practiced." 

 

Through the dense smokey fog, a flicker of a flame began to cut through the dark. Sasha couldn't help but cheer, as Charmander used the Fire-type move against Onix. Her relief was short-lived as Onix rose out of the flames and tried to slam right down on her little pokemon. 

 

"Bind that pokemon!" Braun called, watching as Onix constricted Charmander with its body, trying to squeeze all the air out of it. "A fire can't work without oxygen." 

 

Seeing Charmander struggling to breathe, Sasha was tempted to call the match and admit defeat. Sasha couldn't stand to see her pokemon hurt again, she knew Charmander wasn't going to give up unless she told him too. "Come on Charmander! I know you can do it, hold on a little longer. Use Fury Swipe!" She called, urging him on. 

 

_"Chaaarrr."_ Charmander was still struggling but at Sasha's command, began to heat his body up and lash out with his claws at Onix's body. 

 

"Keep going, keep using Fury Swipe Charmander." Sasha encouraged, letting out a little battle cry of her own. Charmander fell from Onix's grasp, gasping for air as the rock-type pokemon collapsed with a heavy thud. 

 

Sasha rushed to her Charmander's aid, using a potion to quickly heal him. She cradled him to her chest, bursting with pride at how well he had done. Charmander let out a tired little growl, before closing his eyes and resting against her. 

 

Braun wasn't sure what to make of the fact that he had just been defeated by a girl and a fire type pokemon. "Well, I didn't see the rock crumbling that way, you're pretty dynamite." Braun held out the Boulder Badge to Sasha. "Congrats trainer, you earned it." 

 

Pinning the badge to her jacket, Sasha smiled and shook the gym leader's hand. "Thank you for the battle. Your Onix was very strong." 

 

"Onix is a loyal pokemon just like your Charmander. Hey, you look familiar, you've been on TV before right?" Braun studied her for a moment before the light bulb went off. "You're the Rock's sister. I had the chance to fight Dwayne once, I didn't know his little sister was out becoming a pokemon trainer. You're so lucky." 

 

Uncomfortable with the talk about her brother, Sasha shifted awkwardly. "Yeah that's me, I am out to prove myself. I should be on my way, I need to heal my pokemon and rest up. I have a long journey ahead of me." Sasha said, before all but fleeing the gym with Charmander still in her arms. She didn't want to stick around people who only wanted to fawn over her brother.

 

Once she felt that she was far enough away from the gym and other people, Sasha set her pokemon down. "I'm proud of you Charmander, and I'm equally proud of Lady. You both are the best pokemon ever, this badge is yours as much as it is mine." 

 

_"Mander, Chaaarrr."_ Charmander looked exhausted but his tail glowed at the praise. He nuzzled Sasha's hand, before pushing the button to his Pokeball so he could take a rest. 

 

Sasha let out a soft sigh, wishing she could call a friend and share the success with somebody, but she knew she couldn't. Her brother would only brag about his own experiences and it wasn't like she was friends with Bayley anymore. A pang of regret hit her just like earlier, but she pushed it away. Sasha had made her own choices and she would have to live with it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How is everybody enjoying the story? I hope it's entertaining enough, I am thinking of giving Sasha her sunglasses for when she battles. Thank you for every kudo, view, hit or whatever. You all make me a better writer.


	6. An unfriendly encounter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sasha runs into Team Rocket

It had been three whole days since Sasha won her gym badge and she was starting to crack. It wasn’t as fun to keep rehashing the battle with her own pokemon, not after the first day. The trainers Sasha had cornered into matches along Route 3 were not as interested in her victory tale after she beat them. Sasha was longing for actual conversation, she was starting to go a bit stir-crazy without it. 

 

Which is why she finally broke her cardinal rule and phoned home from the lobby of a little Pokemon Center near Mt. Moon. She was near the end of Route 3 and she hadn’t checked in with her family since she began her journey, so she figured now would be a good time to just let them know how she was doing. 

 

Except that it wasn’t her mother or her father who picked up but her brother. Sasha had to force herself to bite her tongue when she heard his voice. 

 

“Hey Dwayne, is mom and dad there?” Sasha asked, trying to keep her voice even. 

 

“No, they just left. Booker and Sharmell had an event to go to, so they won’t be home until late tonight. Was there something important you needed me to tell them?” Dwayne asked, sounding bored. 

 

Sasha groaned, her grip tightening on the phone. She had always hated that her brother got to call their parents Booker and Sharmell if she had tried she was promptly told to show some respect. 

 

“Can you just tell them I called?” Sasha asked, feeling defeated. 

 

“Sure thing pipsqueak. How goes the journey?” The Rock asked, seeming to finally take an interest in her journey. 

 

Sasha had to think for a moment about how to best describe everything she had gone through so far. She didn’t want to mention her lost to Charlotte, so she decided to just go for a sort of highlight real. “I got my first gym badge. I have also beat a few trainers along the way, and now I have two pokemon. My Charmander and Poochyena that I cal-”

 

“It doesn’t matter what you call them.” Dwayne interrupted, clicking his tongue. “You’re what two or three weeks into your journey? I would have had at least six pokemon by now and two badges. Come on little sister, pick up the pace. You’re carrying on the family name, I don’t want you to embarrass me..” 

 

Sasha was downright irritated now, that he had somehow made the conversation about himself. “I need to go.” She muttered, slamming the phone down hard enough to earn a dirty look from Nurse Molly. 

 

“Please be careful with the equipment. It’s for everybody.” Nurse Molly said, before handing back Sasha’s pokeballs. She had been healing them for the trainer, while Sasha talked on the phone. 

 

Sasha ducked her head apologetically and frowned. “I am sorry, I shouldn’t have done that.” 

 

The nurse considered her for a long few seconds, before placing a kind hand on her shoulder. “We all have those kinds of moments. It’s all good Ms. Banks. Now, you’re pokemon are all healed up and rested, you are welcome to stay or you can continue on your way.” 

 

While staying the night in a warm building sounded better than having to camp out on the route, Sasha knew it was in her best interest to keep moving. “Thank you for the offer, but I think I’ll set out. I hope you have a lovely day.” Sasha said trying to be polite to the adult before she all but ran for the exit. 

 

Once Sasha was far enough away from the building and closer to the trail of Mt. Moon, she released Charmander and Lady from their pokeballs. Sasha was feeling lonely and in some desperate need of company, so she was happy to see them. 

 

“Are you two feeling better?” Sasha asked the last battle her team had fought hard but she knew they had been exhausted. 

 

Charmander nodded. _“Charmander.”_ He said before pressed his head against Sasha’s knee. He could sense that his trainer was upset, he just didn’t know about what. 

 

 _“Poochyenaaa.”_ Lady gave a little growled and jumped up, licking at Sasha’s hand. 

 

Sasha laughed and knelt down to hug her pokemon. Around other trainers, she tried to keep herself reserved and business-like, but when she was alone she tended to let her guard down. She didn’t mind playing with her pokemon when it was just them. Poochyena was going crazy and trying to lick her face much as a puppy would. 

 

“I am okay guys, I just had a phone call with my family,” Sasha explained, petting Lady’s fur. Lady let out a little whine, and even Charmander seemed to make a noise of discontentment. “I know it’s silly to let my brother get under my skin, I just wanted to talk to my parents. They’ve always made time for him and his dreams, I doubt they’ve even really noticed I’m gone. Bayley is so lucky that her dad cared growing up.” 

 

It was a stupid reason to be jealous, but That didn’t mean Sasha wasn’t. All the other kids in Pallet Town seemed to have parents who, even if they were busy, still cared. Becky got to build and work on inventions with her family. Charlotte had siblings and a dad who thought the world revolved around her. It was Bayley that Sasha was the most jealous of, Bayley had Guerrero as a dad, somebody that Sasha idolized. 

 

Sasha could remember the first time she actually met Bayley’s dad, she had been too stunned to speak. The whole reason she had even met Bayley, was because her family had wanted Eddie to mentor Dwayne before he left for the pokemon league championship. Sasha, of course, had wanted to ask Eddie a few questions, but Dwayne, who knew what it meant to her, had asked their parents send her outside. Sasha had been heartbroken, crying on the back porch when she met Bayley for the first time. 

 

Bayley who had been playing in the backyard, rocking her signature side ponytail had walked over to make Sasha feel better. Bayley offered to show her cool places in the forest and taught Sasha how to ride a two-wheel bike. They spent the next few years after that being inseparable, until a year ago when Sasha had decided she needed to be serious and let go of childhood things. Sasha could still recall the pain in Bayley’s eyes when she ended the friendship. It was one of Sasha’s biggest regrets, but it wasn’t one she thought she could go back on. So Sasha just left it alone, building walls up because she was too stubborn to actually apologize.

 

Sasha was pulled out of the childhood memory when Lady nipped at her fingers. Sasha gave the pokemon a stern look. “If you’re hungry, you could have just said so Lady.” Sasha deadpanned. 

 

 _“Poooochyena.”_ The grey and black dog pokemon growled back at her. 

 

Charmander lightly thumped the other pokemon behind the ear, reprimanding her. _“Charmander.”_ He then looked to Sasha and sat down. _“Charrr.”_

 

“Okay, I guess you’re hungry too.” Sasha unzipped her backpack, rifling through her supplies. “Charmander can you and Lady gather some sticks and start a little fire. I’ll warm us up some soup.” Sasha said, deciding to make them a little meal. It would give them the strength they needed to try and get through Mt. Moon.

 

About ten minutes later, they had a nice little fire going and were gathered around it. Sasha was heating up some soup she had bought when she was replenishing her supplies in the last little town. It was supposed to be vegetable beef, which Sasha hoped her pokemon would enjoy. The trio ate in silence, all of them enjoying the silence. Sasha knew she had been pushing them hard, trying to get as much battle experience as she could. If they were going to win more badges, they’d have to be stronger. Plus the thing her brother had said about her needing more pokemon was still running around her mind. 

 

Sasha was trying to think of what kind of pokemon she could use. She had Charmander who was a fire-type and Poochyena was a dark type, which was a good foundation. Sasha knew Lady and Charmander were a tough team by themselves, but she wanted to add more layers to the dynamic. Sasha just didn’t know who to add, she wanted the pokemon she picked to be the best of the best. 

 

Once her pokemon were finished eating, Sasha got to her feet. “Come on, I think we can camp along the mountain if we hurry.” Sasha wanted to find a place where they’d be protected from the wind. There were still things that Sasha was learning about being on her own in the wilderness, but she was doing her best. She put Charmander and Lady back in their respective Pokeballs and then shouldered her backpack so she could start walking. 

 

As Sasha was nearing the mountain, she was debating on whether or not to just push forward. She had a couple of flashlights and some rope in her backpack if she needed to make an escape. Plus it would get her closer to Cerulean City if she hurried on through, which was where Sasha was hoping to go. 

 

Walking through some of the tunnels, she began to look around. It seemed as if most of the other travelers had already retired for the night. She could hear some noises, which she assumed were wild pokemon. Sasha thought about pulling out one of the flashlights, but then a thought occurred to her. She had a Charmander, and with Charmander's tail flame, she'd be able to see somewhat. 

 

"Alright, Charmander! I choose you." Sasha released him from the Pokeball and smiled. "I hope you got some good rest buddy, I'm going to need you to help me get through the tunnels and caves. Can you do that?" Sasha asked him. 

 

 _"Char."_ The fire-type pokemon responded, turning and leading the way down the rocky trail. Charmander seemed to have an extra glow about him, proud to be selected to help Sasha. 

 

Sasha appreciated her pokemon's willingness to help her out. "Thank you, Charmander." She followed after him, occasionally glancing around at the cave walls and nodding to the wild pokemon that she passed. She was keeping an eye out for any pokemon that might be a good addition to her team, but so far all she had seen were Geodude and Paras, and she wasn't convinced about them being the right fit for her. 

 

They had walked quite a distance when Sasha heard the sound of harsh voices echoing off the walls of the cave. She signaled to Charmander to stop walking, and tilted her head trying to hear what the voices were discussing, it sounded important. Getting lower to the ground, Sasha tried to peak around the corner. 

 

She could see two tall teenagers standing in front of a scared looking pokemon. The tallest one had dark black hair and was kicking at the pokemon who seemed to be guarding little stones. 

 

"Give us the stones!" The shorter woman barked, joining in on kicking at the small pokemon. "Billie let's just knock this little puny pokemon out and grab the moonstones and the fossils. We'll be rich." 

 

Billie snickered and grabbed the pokemon by the scruff, throwing it against the cave wall. "Grab it and go Peyton."

 

The sight of two humans ganging up and abusing a weaker pokemon did not sit well at all with Sasha. "Why don't you pick on somebody your own size." Sasha snapped concern in her eyes for the hurt pokemon. She approached the two girls, the flame on Charmander's tail illuminating the downed Pokemon, revealing it to be Cleffa. 

 

Billie and Peyton stared at each other before they both burst out into laughter. "Somebody our size? You're going to need to grow a few inches there sweetheart." Billie chided, rolling her eyes.

 

Sasha's ears burned with embarrassment, knowing that the two were making fun of her. "I may not be as tall as you, but I am not afraid of you either. You hurt Cleffa over what? Some stupid rocks?"

 

Peyton rolled her eyes. "Stupid rocks, please these are Moonstones and fossils, they are super powerful. This little brat of a pokemon wouldn't get out of our way. If you're in Team Rocket's way, you're going to get hurt." Peyton warned, trying to get Sasha to back down. 

 

Sasha recalled briefly seeing a wanted poster with the two teens faces on them in the various towns she had passed through. "I'd like to see you try and hurt me. How about a pokemon battle? If I win, you leave the Cleffa alone, and you leave the Moonstones and fossils right here." 

 

Billie shook her head. "When we win, we're going to take Cleffa, the little moonstones, and fossils, then we'll take your little Charmander for good measure," Billie said, taking a menacing step towards Sasha. 

 

Sasha held her ground and looked to Charmander. "Come on Charmander, let's do this thing." 

 

Peyton tossed out her Bellsprout while Billie threw out Weedle. Sasha glanced at Charmander, wondering if her opponents were really stupid enough to use grass-type pokemon against Charmander a fire-type. 

 

"Alright time to go to work." Sasha was aware that Charmander could handle the two on his own, but she didn’t want him to battle alone, so she threw out her Poochyena as well. “Come on Lady, help Charmander out.” 

 

Charmander and Lady exchanged glances, before facing Bellsprout and Weedle. Sasha took a deep breath, watching the other two trainers, waiting to see what they do. 

 

"Bellsprout use Vine Whip on that mangy mutt!"

 

"Weedle use Poison String on the lizard."

 

Sasha frowned at Team Rocket, shaking her head. "Charmander use Ember on Weedle. Poochyena use Bite on Bellsprout." Sasha didn't know what Team Rocket was thinking by going with a type disadvantage, but it didn't matter. Cleffa hadn't moved from where it had been kicked and thrown against the wall, and Sasha was worried about it. 

 

Bellsprout tried to vine whip Poochyena who growled and grabbed it by the vines. Poochyena used the vines like a tug-of-war and began to toss her head from side to side, shaking the grass pokemon. Charmander had used ember on Weedle, knocking the other Pokemon back with a burst of flames. 

 

Billie and Peyton looked irritated by the fact that their pokemon were getting beat. Billie withdrew Weedle and got right in Sasha's face, grabbing the girl by the hair. "You're just a little annoying girl, we should beat you up like we did the last one."

 

Sasha thrashed around against Billie's grip on her hair, fighting to free herself. A thought had occurred to her, and she wondered if these two teens were the same ones who had hurt Becky and forced Bayley to save the inventor. Sasha may not have been friends with Becky, but she still didn't like the idea of Becky being unfairly beaten up.

 

Charmander and Lady did not like seeing their trainer being beaten up, so Charmander shot fire at Peyton and Billie's feet, while Poochyena growled and snapped at them. 

 

Billie let go of Sasha's hand, fear entering her eyes as she backed up. "This isn't over." She snapped before she and Peyton gathered their pokemon and made a break for it. 

 

Sasha watched them go, glaring after them until they were gone. She then smiled at Charmander and Lady. "Thank you for having my back." She turned her attention to Cleffa, kneeling down next to the pokemon. "Cleffa are you okay?" 

 

Cleffa had finally started to stir. _"Cleffa."_ It looked up at her with its big eyes, the pink pokemon then handed her one of the moonstones and fossils it had been protecting. _"Cleffa."_ It repeated. 

 

Sasha didn't really understand but took the moonstone and the fossil. "Do you want me to send help back? Maybe tell an officer so they can send somebody back to help you guard these?" Sasha asked she didn't want to see the little pokemon get hurt. 

 

Cleffa nodded and looked up at Sasha before the pokemon gathered the other moonstones and disappeared into the cave. Sasha put the ones she had been given into her backpack and shifted her attention to her own pokemon.

 

"We should get out of here. I don't know if Team Rocket is coming back, but the faster we get to Cerulean City, the better." Sasha didn't want to put her pokemon back in the pokeballs just yet. She wanted to leave Charmander out to lead the way, and then have Poochyena out, just in case, Team Rocket tried to attack her again.


	7. Welcome to Cerulean City

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After running into Team Rocket at Mt. Moon, Sasha makes it to Cerulean City, where she meets an interesting stranger.

To say that Sasha Banks was utterly exhausted was an understatement. Her feet and back were aching from the steady pace that she was keeping, however, the girl was determined to make it to Cerulean City as soon as possible. She had put Charmander back in his Pokeball when they had left MT. Moon, she knew he wouldn't be able to keep up with her once she got moving. She had allowed her Poochyena, Lady to stay out for a while to keep her company and to protect her from Team Rocket, but had eventually been forced to put her back in her own Pokeball when she started limping.

 

Now Sasha was once more on her own, wishing she had bought a bike from home or something. She could hear her brother's voice in her head, chiding her about thinking ahead. Sasha set her jaw, shaking her head, trying to clear her mind of anything other than her goal. She had to get to Cerulean City and tell Officer Victoria about how Team Rocket was trying to steal Moonstones and Fossils from MT. Moon and that they had hurt Cleffa. 

 

By the time she reached the outskirts of the city, her clothes were filthy and sticking to her with sweat. Sasha felt like she was radiating heat, her canteen of water had run out about two miles outside of the city so she was desperately thirsty. Sasha staggered through the community garden, kneeling down at a fountain to greedily take in some water. Getting to Officer Victoria was still a priority, but she needed a drink of water first. 

 

"I wouldn't do that if I were you. People put their pokemon in that water and throw coins in it, it's not entirely sanitary." 

 

Sasha flinched at the sound of somebody talking to her. Sasha lifted her head up and away from the fountain, blinking against the brightness of the sun as it began its ascent over the top of the buildings in the city. She locked eyes with a dark-haired man, who looked like he was in the middle of a work out himself. His long black hair was tied back in a ponytail, and he wore a smug little smirk. 

 

"I just needed a drink of water," Sasha muttered, wiping her mouth off with the back of her hand. The water had refreshed her, but she was still tired and irritable. "Do you know where the police station is in this town?" Sasha asked. 

 

The stranger nodded, not taking his eyes off of Sasha. "Down the street, second building on the left. It's big, you can't miss it." 

 

Sasha stared back at him, trying to shield her eyes from the sun. "Right, well thanks." She said, before turning, ready to get away from him. She didn't like the way that he was still smirking at her, as if he knew something she didn't. 

 

"Are you not even going to tell me your name?" The man called after her. 

 

Sasha scoffed and shook her head. "I don't think you need to know it." 

 

The man laughed and shrugged. "You can't fault me for trying, my name is Seth. Good luck finding Officer Victoria, she's doing her rounds, so she won't be at the station." 

 

Narrowing her eyes, Sasha turned back around and fixed Seth with a stare. "Okay then Seth, where can I find Officer Victoria?"

 

Seth tilted his head to the side. "Well stranger, if you give it..." He trailed off checking his watch, before smiling again. "...five or so minutes, she'll do her usual routine of driving through here." 

 

Sasha groaned and flopped down on one of the benches near the fountain. Her legs were tired and she just wanted to rest for a moment. "My name is Sasha B-." She was going to say her last name but stopped before she did. She didn't want to be hounded by Seth if he happened to be a fan of her brother.

 

"Nice to meet you Sasha B," Seth said, grinning in her direction before he started resuming his workout. 

 

Thinking he was weird, Sasha let Charmander and Poochyena out of their pokeballs. She wanted to allow them a chance to get a drink if they wanted too. She knew the journey had been hard on them. but she was glad to have them back. 

 

"You guys okay?" Sasha asked, keeping her voice low, not wanting Seth to overhear her. 

 

Charmander let out a little yawn but otherwise seemed happy. _"Charmander."_ He sat down next to Sasha on the bench, his eyes closing as he turned his face towards the sun. 

 

Lady chased her tail for a little bit, letting out a little growl. _"Poochyena."_ It was clear the pokemon had some energy to burn by the look on its face.

 

Sasha knew that the puppy-pokemon wanted to play but Sasha was feeling exhausted. "Lady, find a stick and I'll throw it to you a couple of times." Sasha offered, watching as the Poochyena 

 

Lady gave a yip and trotted off to find a stick, which she promptly brought to Sasha. Sasha threw the stick a couple of times, trying to alternate distances and different places so that Lady would get a good work out. 

 

Eventually, the sound of a motorcycle approaching drew Sasha's attention and she called out to Lady to come back. Lady trotted over and dropped the stick at Sasha's feet, before laying down to nibble on the stick. 

 

“Well, it looks like your chance to talk to Officer Victoria is at here” Seth called out to Sasha. He was once again smiling at her, which irritated Sasha. She didn't know anybody outside of Bayley who seemed to be some genuinely joyful and smiling all the time. 

 

Sasha raised a hand attempting to draw the officer's attention. "Officer Victoria?" 

 

The police officer who had been leading her Growlithe around, checking the park for any dangers, glanced at Sasha. "Can I help you miss?" 

 

Sasha nodded her head. "My name is Sasha. I just came from Mt. Moon, I saw two trainers in weird uniforms attacking a Cleffa and trying to steal moonstones and fossils." 

 

Victoria frowned and stepped closer to Sasha. "Do you have any proof of this? I can send a patrol to check things out, but I am going to need a description."

 

"The Cleffa gave me a moonstone and a fossil, but I know what the two trainers looked like. They were both female and had red 'R's on their uniforms." Sasha explained, pulling the fossil and moonstone out of her backpack. "I tried to save the Cleffa, and I managed to scare them trainers off with the help of my own pokemon."

 

Officer Victoria carefully inspected the moonstone and the fossil before handing them back to Sasha. "I will definitely send out a patrol thing. I may need you to come by later and sit with a sketch artist so we can have an accurate depiction of the bandits." 

 

"Sure, whatever is needed," Sasha said, trying to keep her tone even, although the idea of being stuck in a stuffy police station was not her idea of fun. She glanced down at the ground to see Lady playing with the police officer's Growlithe. Sasha reached out her hand to pet the Growlithe when the police officer smacked her hand away. 

 

"Please do not touch Growlithe. He's on duty." Victoria said, giving her a stern look. 

 

Sasha swallowed hard, subtly rubbing at her now stinging hand. "Yeah, that was my bad. I'm sorry, it won't happen again." 

 

Victoria's gaze softened and she nodded to Sasha's Charmander. "You're like Fire-types too? My Growlithe is pretty special, he's a great police dog. My sister's Growlithe just had puppies in Celadon city, so maybe you can buy one from her if you want your own." 

 

Sasha nodded in response, to nervous to really say anything. People like Officer Victoria made her nervous because she was never sure how to act around them. "T-thanks for the info."

 

Seth who had been watching the exchange between Sasha and the officer, picked this moment to come over. "Hey, Officer Victoria. How're the streets treating you this morning?" 

 

The police officer cracked a genuine smile. "Mean as always, nice to see you, Seth. I should be on my way, I got a city to protect. Before you leave Cerulean City Sasha, make sure you swing by to give me the description of those bandits. Come on Growlithe." Victoria called, heading back to her motorcycle, with Growlithe trotting faithfully behind her.

 

Lady seemed sad to be losing her playing companion and once more curled up at Sasha's feet. Sasha reached down to pet the sad pokemon's head. 

 

"It's okay Lady, I am sure Charmander will play with you," Sasha promised, scratching Lady behind the ears. 

 

Charmander gave Sasha a dirty look. _"Charrr."_

 

_"Pooochyena,"_ Lady replied, rolling over on her belly to let Sasha give her a belly rub.

 

"Can we say spoiled," Sasha muttered good-naturedly. 

 

"That's is quite the bond you have with your pokemon. They must really trust you." Seth commented, still watching Sasha. He had now moved to sit next to Charmander on the bench. "Are Charmander and Poochyena your only pokemon."

 

Sasha didn't really want to be talking to Seth, he seemed far too perky for her liking but she didn't want to be totally rude, so she decided to attempt to be polite. "Yeah, they're my only pokemon so far, they helped me get my first gym badge though," Sasha said proudly. 

 

"That's impressive. I'm from Celadon City, so I someday want to be a gym leader, but I haven't got any badges quite yet." Seth replied, the smile falling off his face. He seemed deep in thought for a moment. "I only have two pokemon so far as well, I have an Abra and a Poliwag, I plan to catch more though." 

 

Sasha cleared her throat awkwardly. "Well that's cool I guess. I'm going to go to the pokemon center now, I've been running all night and could use a rest. It was...nice to meet you." She finished lamely. Sasha recalled both Charmander and Lady to their pokeballs, starting to leave again when Seth called out to her. 

 

"Hey if you're new in town and looking for cool pokemon, there's a cool spot I could show you. Do you maybe want to meet up later?" Seth inquired, giving her a knowing look. He had met trainers like her before, he knew a dedicated person when he saw one. "It's one of the best spots to find strong pokemon, it's near the Cerulean City Gym." 

 

"Are you asking me out on a date? Because I am really not interested." Sasha deadpanned. 

 

Seth crinkled his nose and actually snorted. "You're not my type. I was just trying to be friendly, not every guy is gonna fall at your feet princess." 

 

Sasha was a bit taken back by his words, but his response seemed to disarm her. Bantering was something she knew how to do, it felt like far more normal behavior than pretending to be all nice. "I wouldn't expect guys to fall at my feet, worshipping me from a distance works just as well." Sasha fired back. 

 

"Are you always this full of yourself?" Seth asked, folding his arms over his chest. 

 

"Only when I need to be. I am going to be the best trainer in the world, so if you really do know a spot for strong pokemon then I am there, but don't try and waste my time." Sasha warned, unable to fight the smile that was beginning to creep across her own face. 

 

Seth rolled his eyes and groaned. "I'll see you later at the pokemon center. I hope you get some rest and aren't always this grumpy." 

 

Sasha just walked away, heading to the pokemon center. She handed over her pokemon to be healed, before finding a chair and passing out. She was tired from her journey and now that she was finally somewhere safe, the feeling of being utterly exhausted hit her like a ton of bricks.

 

A few hours passed and it was about noon when Sasha felt somebody shaking her foot. She groaned and tried to kick at the person who just chuckled and shook her foot harder. 

 

"You know it's not nice to kick people right?"

Sasha slowly opened one eye and glared at the person interrupting her sleep, only to find that it was the guy from earlier, Seth. "What do you want?" She grumbled, squeezing her eyes shut as she tried to go back to sleep. 

 

"I came to get you, you said you wanted to meet up. I was even going to be nice and buy you a coffee." Seth said, nudging her foot again. 

 

While a piece of Sasha wanted to kick him right in the face, she made herself sit up. Her back was sore from sleeping in a chair, but she felt a lot less tired. "I can't refuse a free coffee." She stood to her feet, stretching out her aching muscles. Sasha then grabbed her pokemon from Nurse Molly, giving a thankful nod before turning to Seth. "Where too?"

 

Seth beckoned her to follow him, leading the way down the street. Now that the rest of the city was fully awake, the streets were a lot more crowded, forcing Sasha to try and keep up with Seth. "The coffee shop is just around the corner, it's owned by an old Elite Four member. Trish Stratus opened up her Stratusfaction Coffee here." 

 

Sasha's eyes widened and she grabbed Seth by the elbow, pulling him to a stop. "Is Trish actually in there, like right now?"

 

Seth gave a bemused smile, intrigued by all of Sasha's weird quirks and strange behaviors. "Yeah probably, she is most days. Why, are you a big fan or something?" 

 

"Um, yeah something like that." Sasha had met Trish before, during her brother's reign as a pokemon league champ. She had been just as star struck meeting Trish as she had been when meeting Bayley's dad. 

 

"Well then, I am sure she'd love to meet you," Seth said, walking into the coffee shop. 

 

Sasha hesitated for a moment, before following Seth in. She wasn't sure Trish would even remember her, so there was no real reason to freak out. Sasha was just going to do her best to play it cool. 

 

Walking through the door, the smell of fresh baked goods and coffee hit her. Sasha's stomach growled and she flushed with embarrassment. Thankfully it seemed like Seth hadn't heard, he was already in the coffee line. 

 

Sasha got in line beside him, staring up at the menu board. "Is it okay if I have a hot chocolate instead?" She asked Seth, going for the cheaper option. She didn't really want the stranger having to spend his money on her. 

"You can have whatever you want, it's on me," Seth said absentmindedly. He was focusing on the fact that Trish Stratus was at the cash register and taking orders. 

 

When the two pokemon trainers reached the register, Sasha was sure her heart was going to beat out of her chest. She couldn't believe that one of her heroes was right in front of her. "Hi." Sasha managed to squeak out, cringing at the way her voice sounded.

 

Trish smiled politely at Sasha before a look of recognition crossed her features. "Sasha right?" 

 

"You know each other?" Seth asked, looking confused. He thought that he was going to have to introduce them, but apparently, that wasn't the case. 

 

"Yeah, I know Sasha. Her brother is a world famous trainer and Pokemon League champ." Trish answered, smiling broadly at Sasha. "Sasha Banks, as I live and breathe. It's been a while, you were a little kid when I saw you last. Probably my biggest fan back in the day as I recall, I still have some of your letters." 

 

Sasha was bright red now, unable to meet anybody's eyes. "It's nice to see you too Trish. Thanks for the coffee." 

 

"Hold up a second, your brother is the Rock?" Seth asked Sasha. He sounded impressed which only made Sasha feel worse. 

 

"I need to go," Sasha said, making a break for the exit. She left her hot chocolate behind, not even caring about it. She didn't want Seth trying to be her friend just because of her brother. She had witnessed a lot of people trying to be her friend only to get close to Dwayne. Sasha didn't want any false friends. 

 

She hurried down the sidewalk, not even sure where she was going, just wanting to get away from it all. Seth managed to catch up to her however and stopped right in front of her. 

 

"You left without your drink," Seth said holding it out to her. "Did I say something wrong, why did you leave?" The teenage boy was very confused by the girl and her actions. He couldn't make heads or tails of her, but he was trying. 

 

"Do you know what it's like always being in my brother's shadow? People only want to be my friend or only recognize me because of him. I am my own person!" Sasha grumbled but took the hot chocolate from him regardless. She tried to justify taking it, by telling herself she was only drinking it so it wouldn't go to waste.

 

Seth's expression softened and he shrugged. "So you have a famous brother, big whoop. I didn't know that when I met you earlier, and it doesn't change the fact that I want to be your friend. I wanted to hang out with you based on the fact that I saw you training and liked your style." 

 

"You want to be my friend?" Sasha asked cautiously, almost afraid to trust that somebody might want to be her friend outside of just using her to get to her brother. 

 

Seth nodded his head. "Yes, I do want to be your friend. I just met you and from what I know so far you seem cool. I thought it was pretty awesome what you did for Cleffa at Mount Moon." 

 

Sasha averted her gaze, feeling almost shy. "I think anybody with a heart would have done it." She said trying to play off the praise. She wasn't used to somebody actually paying her compliments and attention like that. Sasha did like the way it felt though and secretly wanted more. 

 

"That is probably true, anyway I am pretty sure I promised that I would show you that cool spot to catch Pokemon. It is normally water-types, but sometimes they have other ones that are cool." Seth explained, watching to see Sasha's reaction. He was quickly learning that he couldn't really just dump ideas on her, he had to allow her the chance to come around to it. 

 

Sasha allowed Seth to lead the way towards a sort of beachfront, that had a lot of cool sand dunes. There were a few people out, and multitudes of pokemon varieties. Sasha was already impressed by it, her gaze drifting to a school of Horsea that were frolicking in the water. 

 

"It's beautiful isn't it?" Seth commented, a smug little smirk on his face. 

 

Sasha laughed and nodded, finally relaxing a bit. "Yeah, it is." She walked down the stairs and out onto the beach, kicking off her running shoes so she could feel the sand between her toes. 

 

"So what one are you going to catch?" Seth asked, gesturing to all the wild pokemon. 

 

"A horsea might be a good fit for my team. I like strong pokemon, and pokemon are only as strong as their trainers train them to be." Sasha said, starting over in the direction when she heard a noise that sounded like a sort of distressed call. 

 

Turning around, in the distance Sasha saw a bunch of crab-like pokemon attacking a yellow duck Pokemon. She wasn't going to intervene at first, but she could hear the Pokemon crying out in pain as it was repeatedly pinched. Sasha ran in the direction of the crab pokemon which she remembered were called Krabby. 

 

"Stop, leave that duck alone," Sasha growled, throwing out Poochyena and Charmander's pokeballs. "Charmander use tackle, Poochyena use bite. Protect that duck." Sasha commanded.

 

Her two pokemon faithfully obeyed her, chasing off the Krabby that were surrounding the cowering duck. Sasha pulled out her Pokedex, realizing that the yellow pokemon was a Psyduck. "You okay there Psyduck?" Sasha asked, kneeling down to check out the pokemon. She sprayed a quick potion over its scratches, before getting back up on her feet.

 

Psyduck seemed to realize that its attackers were gone and rubbed its head. _"Pssyy-yyy-duck."_ It responded, before laying eyes on Sasha. Its eyes widened and the pokemon launched itself against Sasha's leg, nuzzling its head against her knee. 

 

Sasha gently patted Psyduck's head, before clearing her throat. "Well you're safe now, run along," Sasha said, turning to look at Seth who had walked over. 

 

"Aww looks like that Psyduck likes you." Seth pointed out. 

 

Sasha crinkled her nose, before recalling Charmander and Poochyena to their respective pokeballs. "No, I was just saving it and giving a potion to it, so Psyduck could heal." She started to walk away, but Psyduck followed her. 

 

"You got company." Seth laughed, finding it amusing that Sasha was being followed by the pokemon.

 

Sasha frowned and tried to walk away faster, but Psyduck followed her. She turned around to tell the pokemon to go and find a different trainer, but Psyduck just stared up at her with a look of adoration. "You want to be my pokemon?" Sasha asked. 

 

Psyduck nodded. _"Psyyduck."_

 

Groaning, Sasha pulled out one of her pokeballs and threw it at Psyduck. Psyduck didn't even fight, it was happy to be captured by Sasha and claimed. Sasha watched as the Pokeball stopped moving and scooped it up, putting it in her bag. Seth was grinning at her, clearly wanting to make a comment, but Sasha shot him a dirty look. 

 

"Not a single word, I don't want to hear it, Seth," Sasha muttered, before walking off the beach. She was tempted to send Psyduck back to Professor Angle. However as Sasha made her way towards the Pokemon Center, she rounded the corner and found herself face to face, with one of her neighbors from Pallet Town.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So who do you think Sasha ran into? Also, what do you think of her friendship with Seth and her capturing a Psyduck?


	8. The Sasha/Bayley/Becky Cross-over chapter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A sort of update

So it's been a hot minute. The chapter eight the cross-over chapter can be found here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17928404/chapters/44974066 . I know some people have been waiting to see Sahsa can do to redeem her friendship with Bayley. If you read the cross-over chapter you'll find out. Chapter nine should be interesting because Sasha and Seth are now on an important mission.


	9. Team Rocket tracking

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sasha and Seth are hot on the trail of Team Rocket after the debacle at Cerulean City Gym. Along the way to Saffron City, they capture new pokemon and make a new ally.

After everything that had gone down in Cerulean City, Sasha was itching to get back on the road. She had appreciated the chance to make friends with Seth and rekindle her friendship with Bayley, but now Sasha had a different weight on her shoulders. Team Rocket had gotten away from her once again. She had been glad they had fled when she fought them in Mt. Moon, but them attacking the Pokemon Gym and trying to grievously wound Charlotte's Squirtle had pushed Sasha too far. Sasha didn't even like Charlotte or Becky for that matter, but Team Rocket was becoming an issue that Sasha felt she should deal with. 

 

Seth, on the other hand, was a bit more reluctant. He would never back down from a fight, but he also didn't want to see Sasha get hurt. "Maybe we should leave this to Officer Victoria. Going after Team Rocket by ourselves isn't wise." Seth pointed out. 

 

Sasha wasn't in the mood to listen to reason, she had rested her Pokemon at the Pokemon Center so they could heal up, but now that they were ready she was halfway out of Cerulean City. 

 

"So you're not going to even listen? You're going to get yourself hurt Sasha!" Seth grumbled, wondering if Sasha had always been this hardheaded. 

 

"You don't have to come with me if you don't want too. I am capable of taking Team Rocket by myself." Sasha replied, shooting him a look over her shoulder. 

 

For a moment Seth stared at her and then he began to laugh. "From what Becky said, there was four of you battling one man and you couldn't take him. I doubt you could take all of Team Rocket down by yourself. You have three pokemon, none of which are evolved past their basic forms." 

 

Sasha scowled at him in irritation, but she knew he was right. "Well, I am just going to have to train harder." 

 

"What about the Cerulean City Gym, you don't want to fight for the badge?" Seth asked he had actually wanted to stay and fight the gym. He had been training his Abra and Poliwag for that very reason. 

 

Pausing but only for a moment, Sasha shook her head. "Charmander is my strongest pokemon and he would have a type disadvantage. Poochyena would have to do most of the fighting and I've never used Psyduck in battle. I'd be better off strengthening my pokemon before I take on the Bella Twins in the gym." 

 

Seth weighed her words before sighing. "Alright, fine. Let's get going after Team Rocket. We better hurry," He grumbled, knowing that there was no point in arguing with Sasha when her mind was made up. 

 

\---

 

They spent the next four hours walking, Sasha was pushing them on a steady pace and Seth was doing his best to keep up. He was starting to get tired though and finally asked for a rest. He pointed out that there was a small stream where he could rest Poliwag and that the other pokemon could get some water to drink. 

 

"Okay thirty minutes, no more," Sasha said setting her stuff down. She wouldn't admit it, but it felt good to lighten her load and sit down. 

 

The four hours they had walked, Sasha would occasionally ask passing trainers if they saw the van that Team Rocket had escaped in. A few people had, but other trainers seemed more inclined to keep their mouths shut when it came to Team Rocket. 

 

Seth let out his pokemon, letting Abra sit next to him while allowing Poliwag to go for a swim. Sasha let out Psyduck, Charmander, and Poochyena. Psyduck looked confused as usual but waddled over to swim with Poliwag. Charmander studied Abra before sitting down next to the psychic pokemon. 

 

Seth grabbed a stick and threw it for Poochyena since Sasha seemed busy studying her map of the region. "You know you can relax right?" Seth asked, scratching Lady under the chin. The Poochyena licked his cheek and then rolled over for a belly scratch. 

 

Sasha glanced at him and the way he was interacting with her pokemon. The barest hint of a smile crossed her features before she looked him in the eyes. "I've never been good at relaxing." 

 

"Wow, I never would have guessed." Seth deadpanned, rolling his eyes. He threw the stick again for Poochyena, watching the pokemon chase it. "You should take a break and spend some time with your pokemon." 

 

As much as Sasha resented being told what to do, she knew that he was right. She pulled some food out of her backpack and called her pokemon too her, so they could eat. "They were really brave during the fight." 

 

Psyduck was the last one to get to Sasha and ended up face-planting in front of her. Sasha gently scooped up the duck and wiped the mud off his face, before setting him down next to Poochyena so he could eat. 

 

"I think your Psyduck is growing on you." Seth said, knowing how much Sasha proclaimed not to want the water pokemon and yet she was still being affectionate to it." 

 

Sasha grimaced and shrugged. "You'd have to be heartless not to care about pokemon. Psyduck is weird but I kind of like him, just don't tell anybody." 

 

Seth nodded in agreement. "That's how I feel about Abra. He was really hard to get to know, but he has this cool teleport ability. Abra is awesome." Seth said, patting his Abra on the shoulder. 

 

 _"Abrrrraa."_ The pokemon said. 

 

"He also sleeps eighteen hours a day. Like most teenage girls." Seth teased, trying to get a rise out of Sasha. 

 

Sasha punched him lightly in the arm. "Shut up." She grumbled, before petting Charmander's head. "Charmander likes to sleep, but he prefers to sunbathe." 

 

 _"Charmander."_ Charmander cuddled into Sasha's side. The fire-type had seemed down after the failure at the Cerulean City gym. 

 

Lady seemed to pick up on this and tried to cheer Charmander up. The Poochyena licked Charmander's cheek, earning a disapproving look from Charmander who tried to push her away. 

 

"They don't like each other?" Seth asked curiously. 

 

"Lady and Charmander get along fine normally. They just have different ways of showing affection I guess. Charmander doesn't like to have his face licked." Sasha used the hem of her shirt to wipe off the drool on Charmander's cheek. 

 

"Abra and Poliwag don't interact all that much because Abra sleeps so much. When they do, they like to play hide and go seek." Seth shrugged, knowing it was weird. But it was a way he trained Abra. He would have Poliwag swim to different places and then try to get Abra to teleport right in front of Poliwag. 

 

"That's cool," Sasha admitted, actually a bit impressed. 

 

“I actually want to catch more pokemon. Do you mind if we look around for a bit?” Seth asked casually. 

 

Sasha wasn’t so sure that was a good idea, she didn’t want the trail on Team Rocket to run cold. “I guess we could try and catch a few pokemon, but then we really need to get a move on. We can poke around in Saffron City, see if Team Rocket is there, before going to Celadon.”

 

Seth gave her a curious look. “I haven’t been back to Celadon in a few weeks, but it’ll be nice to see my family again. Maybe my pokemon will be strong enough to beat the gym this time. I’ve always looked up to Asuka. She’s a tough Gym Leader.”

 

Sasha stood up and looked to her three pokemon. “Do you guys want to capture a new friend?” 

 

Poochyena gave a little yip, before barking at Sasha. Sasha giggled softly and patted Lady on the head. 

 

“Alright, it’s decided. Seth, you go that way, I’ll go in the opposite direction and we’ll meet back in twenty. Maybe we’ll have some new pokemon by then.” Sasha said, gesturing for her pokemon to follow her. 

 

Lady was eager to go scout out the wild pokemon, so she ran ahead of Sasha. Charmander stayed close at Sasha’s side, while Psyduck attempted to follow. However, Psyduck seemed to keep face-planting every couple of steps. 

 

“Psyduck maybe you should let me carry you or go back in the ball,” Sasha suggested after the yellow duck fell for the tenth time. 

 

Psyduck rubbed his head. _“Psy-yyyyduck.”_

 

Sasha threw his Pokeball, drawing the poor creature back in. She looked at Charmander who just stared back at her. “I know he’s a little rough around the edges, but aren’t we all.”

 

 _“Char.”_ Charmander said, giving an almost shrug before they set off again. 

 

Sasha continued picking her way through the brush, following the sounds of her Poochyena chasing the wild pokemon. Sasha walked into the clearing to see Lady slowly creeping up on an unknown small blue and black pokemon. Pulling out her Pokedex, the trainer held it towards the creature.

 

**‘Riolu, the Emanation Pokémon. Riolu has the power to see and understand emotions like happiness and anger in aura waves.’**

 

Sasha snickered softly, the pokemon totally sounded like the type of pokemon Bayley would catch. It made Sasha glad that she and Bayley patched things up, she no longer felt as much regret when she thought of her friend. 

 

“Alright Riolu, you’re mine!” Sasha called, nodding to Charmander. “Charmander, I choose you!” 

 

Poochyena looked sad but backed off as Charmander took her place. Sasha gently patted Poochyena’s head. “It’s okay, Charmander’s got this. You can play with Riolu after we catch it.” She promised. 

 

Riolu looked startled to find itself in a battle, but the pokemon squared up with Charmander anyways. Riolu tried to use the quick attack against Charmander, but when it hit Sasha’s pokemon, the fire-type scarcely moved. 

 

“Charmander use Ember!” Sasha ordered. 

 

 _“Chaarrrr.”_ Charmander used ember, burning Riolu’s paws so it couldn’t run away. 

 

Sasha then threw a Pokeball, holding her breath as it rocked back and forth. After what felt like an eternity, the Pokeball stopped shaking. Sasha let out a whoop of joy, hugging Charmander and Lady close to her chest. “We did it, guys!” 

 

She then released Riolu from its ball, checking the stats on her Pokedex. “According to this, you're a boy and kind of big for your species. I like you.” Sasha said, smiling at the pokemon. Now that she got a better look, Riolu looked just like the type of pokemon she was meant to have. 

 

Riolu glanced from Sasha to Charmander and then finally to Poochyena. Riolu dropped into a playful pounce position, which Lady copied. Soon the two were playing with each other and licking at Charmander’s face, which the fire-type hated. 

 

“Oh Riolu, you should meet Psyduck. He’s part of our team too.” Sasha released Psyduck. 

 

Riolu immediately pounced on the duck pokemon and began licking Psyduck’s cheek. Lady followed suit, leaving Psyduck squirming to get away. 

 

 _“Psyyyyduck,”_ Psyduck complained, holding its head. _“Psyduck, Psyduck, Psyduck.”_

Sasha took pity on Psyduck and Charmander, scooping them both up to save them from the licking canine pokemon. 

 

"It's about time we head back." Sasha decided, recalling Charmander and Psyduck. She looked to her dog pokemon and smiled. "You two can walk, I think you both need to run out the excess energy." 

 

Seth was already waiting for Sasha by the time she had gotten back to the meeting place. He noted her new pokemon and gave Sasha a nod of approval. "Nice catch, Riolu will fit your team well," Seth said, before showing off his new pokemon to Sasha. He had managed to catch a cool looking Larvitar. He was quite proud of his catch. 

 

Sasha checked out the Larvitar and grinned a little bit. "That pokemon fits you really well too. Anyways you ready to head out?" 

 

"I sure am, I think we can make it to Saffron town by nightfall," Seth said, glancing up to where the sun was. It was about midafternoon and they still had a bit of walking to do.

\---

It took them another three hours but the duo had finally reached the outskirts of Saffron City. Sasha had insisted on battling a few trainers along the way, mostly so she could pump them for info on any Team Rocket opportunity. Also, she wouldn't admit it, but she had wanted to see what Riolu could do. She had missed training with her pokemon and wanted them stronger so she could beat Team Rocket when they met again. 

 

Sasha was about to walk through the gate when Seth caught her elbow. He pointed to an older girl, probably about eighteen who had a dark leather jacket on, along with some shades. Hanging out of her jacket pocket was a pack of playing cards. 

 

"Do you know who that is?" Seth asked almost reverently, 

 

"Um no, should I?" Sasha asked, a bit disinterestedly. Sure the other woman had a cool jacket and her ponytail was on fleek, but she didn't look familiar to Sasha. 

 

"That's the Queen of Spades, Shayna Baszler. She's famous around here, she often trains with Paige, the leader of the Saffron City gym. She would be a leader, but she felt she was too cool for it. She knows just about everything that happens in this area, it's her kingdom so to speak." Seth explained, trying to fill Sasha in on all the hot gossip. 

 

Sasha stared Shayna down, before squaring her shoulders. "I am going to challenge her. If she really knows everything that goes on around here, she'll know if Team Rocket came through." 

 

"Are you sure you really want to do that?" Seth asked he appreciated Sasha's willingness to go to war, but he wasn't sure she could take somebody by Baszler. 

 

Shayna seemed to notice Sasha staring at her and slid her sunglasses to the top of her head. "It's considered rude to stare at people unless you want to battle. Why don't you just take a picture princess, it'll last longer." 

 

Sasha snorted, amused by the confidence and cool demeanor that seemed to ooze out of Shayna. "I'll battle you." 

 

Shayna grinned. "Bring it on, one pokemon a piece." 

 

Sasha threw out her Charmander. "One is all I need, Charmander go!"

 

"A Charmander, it's been a while since I saw one of those," Shayna said, before throwing out her pokemon. Shayna happened to have a Hitmonchan.

 

For the next ten minutes, Sasha and Shayna battled it out, both trying to gain the advantage. Every time Sasha tried to have Charmander use an attack, Shayna had a counter for it. It was clear that Shayna had a lot of experience battling, far more than a rookie like Sasha had. A lucky strike from Hitmonchan caught Charmander across the snout, knocking him out. 

 

Sasha frowned, realizing that maybe Seth had been right about her being out of her league. Shayna was stronger than Sasha had anticipated, but Sasha wasn't deterred. "Good match," Sasha said, withdrawing Charmander and extending a hand to Shayna. 

 

"You battle with a lot of heart," Shayna said, shaking Sasha's hand, before giving her a friendly little nod. "I don't think I've seen you around before." 

 

"Thank you. Even though we lost, Charmander and I are constantly improving. Also, you haven't seen me before, I am new in town. I just came from Cerulean. I was tracking Team Rocket towards Celadon City, but I heard from trainers that they might have stopped in Saffron. Have you seen a huge van drive through?" Sasha asked. 

 

Shayna's eyes narrowed slightly, anger flashing in them. "It would be stupid for bad guys like Team Rocket to show their faces around here. I haven't seen that van, but I'd be willing to help you look for them. The sooner people like them are off the paths, the better." 

 

"We could actually use our help. My name is Sasha by the way, me and my companion here, Seth are heading to the pokemon center. Maybe you'd like to come with us and have dinner. You can tell us about the town and we can figure out the best place to track Team Rocket." 

 

"My name is Shayna Baszler, but my friends call me Basz," Shayna explained, before nodding to Seth. "Nice to meet you. Follow me, I'll show you the pokemon center and the best place to eat." 

 

With a sigh of relief, Sasha grabbed her backpack. She and Seth, followed Baszler deeper into the town, happy to be off the route and in an actual city again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it's been a while, but since the crossover chapter, I decided to get back on the pokemon writing train for Sasha and Becky's adventures. Hope you all are enjoying it.


	10. Be the Boss

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sasha meets another stranger in Saffron City who encourages to embrace a different side of herself.

Sasha was fascinated by Shayna’s tales of adventure, Seth and Sasha had been sitting in the lobby of the Pokemon Center for close to two hours just listening to what Baszler had to say. Shayna had been telling them the story of how she ended up in Saffron City, and how she had become good friends with the leader of the Saffron City Gym, Paige. 

 

“Paige is a legacy of that Gym, the Knight family have been the leaders of Saffron’s gym for as long as I can remember. Paige’s brothers went off to travel the different regions, but Paige stayed behind to take over as gym leader.” Shayna explained to the duo. 

 

Sasha was listening intently, clearly wanting to know all she could about Paige and the gym. As much as Sasha was after Team Rocket, she wanted to challenge the different gyms and win badges. She wanted to make sure her Pokemon were tough enough to handle anything Team Rocket could throw at her. 

 

“Do you think I could take Paige on?” Sasha asked, glancing between Shayna and Seth. 

 

“I think you could do it,” Seth said, offering his support. 

 

Baszler was more reserved in her judgment. “I think you battle with a lot of heart. It could be anybody’s fight.” 

 

Sasha smiled and leaned back in her chair. “First thing tomorrow then, I’ll challenge the gym.” She announced. 

 

“Maybe if you win, you can buy yourself a nice reward. Maybe some new running shoes.” Seth suggested to her. 

 

Sasha glanced down at her tennis shoes. They were caked with mud and they were starting to get worn out. “That’s actually a solid idea, thanks, Seth. Maybe I’ll get the shoes first, I want to make a good impression on Paige. If I look composed and put together, I’ll have more confidence.” 

 

Seth gave her a curious look. “Do girls actually believe that?” 

 

“Yeah, we do. A whole new outfit can give you the confidence you need to kick some serious butt.” Shayna said, pointing to her leather jacket. “When I have my leather jacket on, I feel way more confident. The outfit makes the champion.”

 

That sounded crazy to Seth, but he knew better than to argue with girl logic. He had already learned that Sasha could be temperamental and he didn’t want to tick her off again. After the whole fiasco in Cerulean City, and Sasha’s reaction to different things, Seth had learned to just let Sasha do what she was going to do.

 

“Alright while you two ladies talk, I am going to try and get some sleep,” Seth said, letting out a yawn. He moved away from the girls and curled up near a corner of the Pokemon Center’s back wall. 

 

“How did you end up traveling with him?” Shayna asked curiously. 

 

Sasha shrugged her shoulders. “I met Seth in Cerulean City. I thought he was weird at first, actually, I still think he’s a bit odd, but he’s a good trainer. I like traveling with him.” Sasha said, unable to look Shayna in the eyes.

 

Chuckling, Shayna just shook her head. “He’s protective over you.” 

 

“He hardly knows me.” Sasha protested, not liking what Shayna was hinting at. “Enough about me and Seth, I want to know more about you.” 

 

“Ask me anything, I am an open book.” Shayna challenged, pulling out her deck of cards. She shuffled them, needing to do something to keep her hands busy. 

 

“Why do they call you the Queen of Spades, are you good at sleight of hand?” Sasha asked curiously. 

 

The question caused Shayna to smirk. “Why don’t I show you. Pick a card any card you want.” She said, holding out the deck to Sasha. 

\---

 

The next day, Sasha split from Seth and Shayna, heading to the local department store in town. She wanted to buy some new shoes but also maybe a leather jacket, similar to Shayna's. Sasha had realized that if she wanted to be taken seriously, looking the part was important. She already stood out because of her magenta hair, but that wasn't enough from the girl from Pallet. She wanted to be unique and stand on her own two feet without being compared to her brother. 

 

She had actually sent a picture of herself with her Pewter City badge back home. The response from her parents had been mute, they were happy for her but more focused on helping Dwayne make different media appearances. It was frustrating to Sasha that her parents didn't seem to care, Becky's words from Cerulean stuck in her head. She tried to push those thoughts away instead of dwelling on them. There was nothing that a little retail therapy couldn't fix. 

 

Sasha was looking in the clothing department, checking out the different leather jackets. She had two in her hands, one was black with some studs, while the other was white with black trim. She didn't know which one to pick, wishing she had thought to bring Shayna along to help her decide. 

 

"The black jacket with studs makes you look hardcore." 

 

Sasha turned around to find a shorter, blonde girl staring at her. The corner of the girl's lips was turned up in a hint of a smile, but the look in her eyes was what caught Sasha off guard. The girl was staring at her so intently, it made Sasha want to curl in on herself or look away. 

 

Sasha helped up the black leather jacket, looking at the mirror again. She could see the girl's point, it did make her look more fierce. "I think you're right, it does make me look.." Sasha struggled to dins the right word. 

 

"It makes you look like a boss." The blonde supplied, before extending a hand to Sasha. "I'm Alexa." 

 

"I'm Sasha. Do you work here Alexa?" Sasha asked curiously, wondering why Alexa had offered her some assistance. 

 

Alexa shook her head. "No, I don't work here. I just like to help people make the right decisions." She shrugged and went back to looking through the clothes rack. "You need a good pair of shoes to match with that jacket. Shoes complete the look." 

 

Sasha wrinkled her brow, unsure how to take the unsolicited fashion advice from Alexa. "Did you have something in mind?" 

 

Alexa smirked over her shoulder at Sasha. "I thought you'd never ask. Follow me, I'm like an expert at finding cool clothing combinations."

 

Her curiosity getting the better of her, Sasha found herself following Alexa around the store. The girl's friendliness reminded her a tiny bit of Bayley, making Sasha miss her friend. Alexa surprisingly was pretty good at picking out things that seemed to fit Sasha style well. 

 

Finally, when it was time to pay, Sasha grimaced at the total price. "I think I can afford a jacket and a cheaper pair of shoes." She mumbled, realizing she was running a little low on cash. 

 

"You can't split up the outfit." Alexa protested, before pulling out her wallet and paying for it. 

 

Sasha wasn't sure what to say, she felt uncomfortable with Alexa purchasing stuff for her. "You didn't have to do that," Sasha interjected. 

 

"It's fine, don't mention it," Alexa replied, handing Sasha the items. "Good luck on your adventure Sasha." 

 

"This is going to sound random, but I am going to challenge the gym later, would you like to come to watch?" Sasha asked quietly. She was thankful that Alexa had paid and she wanted to pay her back somehow. "I'll dedicate my win to you or something." 

 

Alexa looked confused by the invitation but gave a genuine smile this time. "Sure that would be fun. I like seeing pokemon battles. It'll be interesting, what pokemon are on your team." 

 

"I have Charmander, Psyduck, Riolu and my Poochyena who I call Lady," Sasha explained, beaming proudly. Even Psyduck had been growing on her a bit and she was proud to have him on her team. 

 

"Lady? Oh, that is such a cute name. I have a Persian I named Goddess because that's what she is." Alexa replied, sounding excited that they seemed to have something in common. "I rescued her when she was just a little Meowth, we have been through a lot together."

 

Sasha nodded in understanding. "Charmander and I have been through so weird things too I guess. We recently fought off Tea Rocket, have you heard of them?"

 

Alexa blinked slowly and then let out a soft hum. "I think I've heard of them, they're a bunch of bad people. Or at least that's what the news says. It's really cool that you fought them off, I am excited to see you fighting at the gym." Alexa said, shifting the conversation back to the gym and away from Team Rocket. 

 

"Come on, we can meet up with my friends. You can sit with them while I battle." Sasha said, leading Alexa out of the department store. 

\---

 

Seth and Shayna hadn’t really known what to make of Sasha when she came back with Alexa and a bag of new clothes. Sasha had been hyped up about her match however so Seth didn’t want to burst her bubble. 

Sasha’s friends were in the observation deck of the gym, watching as Sasha battled her way through the Saffron City Gym trainers. Sasha, herself, felt like she was making good time. Occasionally Shayna would yell out some encouragement to Sasha, trying to help her defeat the different trainers that stood in her way. 

By the time that Sasha and Charmander made it to Paige, Sasha felt exhausted. Charmander was even a little gassed, but he wasn’t about to give up when Sasha still wanted to fight. 

Paige stared at Sasha with a contemplative look on her face. “Are you sure you want to challenge me right now, or would you like a break?” The Saffron City Gym Leader asked, fully expecting that Sasha would want to take a break. 

Sasha wiped the sweat from her brow and shook her head. “I can keep going, the team and I have this. Charmander you can take a break.” Sasha said, before sending out Poochyena. “Lady let’s finish this strong.” 

Feeling more amused than actually threatened, Paige decided to play along. “Alright, go Alakazam!” Paige said sending out her best pokemon. 

Seth and Shayna were on the edges of their seats as they watched Poochyena and Alakazam fighting. Whenever one would start to get the upper hand, the other Pokemon would find a way to keep on fighting. 

 

Finally, Paige’s Alakazam managed to knock out Poochyena with a rough psybeam attack. A frown flickered across Sasha’s features, feeling unsure. She had expected Lady to be able to finish the match strongly. 

 

Glancing over at Charmander who was watching, Sasha nodded to the battlefield. “You want to finish this Charmander.” She wasn’t sure if he was going to win, she knew he was already tired from having to fight all the Pokemon to get to Paige. 

 

Charmander gave a nod and walked out to face the much larger Alakazam. “Charmander.”

 

“Come on Sasha! Be the Boss I know you can be.”Alexa called, trying to will Sasha onward. 

 

Using the encouragement to spur her forward, Sasha ordered Charmander to use Ember. Paige responded by having Alakazam teleport to a different part of the battlefield. 

 

“Use Pysbeam on that Charmander!” Paige called. 

 

Sasha wanted to look away, she didn’t want to see Charmander get hurt. Charmander dodged out of the way at the last second, using the momentum to latch onto Alakazam. The fire-type bit down, holding on as Alakazam kept trying to teleport away. The more that Paige’s pokemon kept trying to teleport, the more energy it was using. 

 

“Now Charmander, use fury swipes.” Sasha watched as Charmander obeyed, relentlessly swiping his claws over Alakazam until the psychic-pokemon fainted. 

 

There was a delayed reaction as nobody in the gym could believe that Charmander had actually won. A bright light flashed encompassing Charmander, at first Sasha was concerned until she realized her pokemon was evolving. 

 

A few moments later where Charmander had once stood, a larger pokemon had appeared. Sasha slowly approached the newly evolved Charmeleon, who was looking quite pleased with himself. 

 

“You did it buddy!” Sasha said, giving her pokemon companion a big hug. She was so proud of him, appreciating that he had won her, her second gym badge. 

 

“Congrats, your pokemon evolved and you have earned you Marsh badge,” Paige announced, walking over to shake Sasha’s hand and give her the badge. “What are you going to do now?” 

 

Sasha shook Paige’s hand, before stealing a look at her friends who were beaming at her. “I think me and my friends are going to celebrate.” 

 

“Heck yes, we are! Next stop Celadon City!” Seth called, leading Shayna and Alexa to where Sasha was. “That is if these two are coming with us.” 

 

Shayna shrugged. “I have nothing better to do, it’s been a while since I left Saffron. It would be nice to get out there and go after new challenges.” She had been in Saffron for a long time. She wanted to see what else the region held for her. 

 

“Count me in I guess. I have to head to Celadon anyways.” Alexa said, before giving Sasha a nod of approval. “You did, I told you that you were a total boss Sasha.”

 

“I like the sound of that, I am the boss,” Sasha said, pinning her new badge to her jacket. She felt excited and optimistic, but she hadn’t forgotten about her real mission. She needed to find Team Rocket, and before they left the city she was going to ask around.


	11. Adventures in the woods

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alexa and Sasha have an adventure in the woods.

Sasha had been on cloud nine, but there was a piece of her that should have known it was too good to last. At least compared to her brother, Sasha was never going to have the spotlight for very long. Alexa had been the one to insist that she call back home, telling Sasha that everybody would be so proud of her. It seemed that wasn't the case at all. 

 

She had used Alexa's phone to call because for some reason the girl's phone was far more advanced and able to get good reception anywhere. Sasha had thought about questioning Alexa, but then she had heard her mother pick up. 

 

"Hey, Mommy." 

 

"Sasha? Oh, you called just in time. Your brother is going to be interviewed on the Kevin Owens shows." 

 

"Actually that's not why I called, I got my second gym badge," Sasha interjected, hoping her mom would be excited for her. Dwayne had been interviewed on the Kevin Owens show like ten times before. 

 

There was silence on the other end and for a moment, Sasha had assumed her mother hung up. "Oh that's great sweetie, that tie really fits you. Sorry Sasha, did you say something?" 

 

Anger raced through Sasha's body, her eye twitching. Slowly she lowered the phone from her ear and hung up, before handing it back over to Alexa. 

 

"Everything okay there?" Alexa asked, concern in her gaze. 

 

Seth placed a hand sympathetically on Sasha's shoulder. He had realized by now that family was a touchy subject for her. "Why don't we keep walking, there are some cool pokemon out here. We can all battle and see what our pokemon can do." 

 

Shayna nodded, thinking the idea was a good one. "Rollins, why don't you come with me and we'll let Alexa go with Sasha." 

 

Seth was about to argue that he wanted to go with Sasha, but Alexa had already jumped up at the opportunity to spend time with Sasha. 

 

"Yeah come on Sasha, we'll see what your Charmeleon can do." The blonde said pulling Sasha away from the others. 

 

Waiting until the duo was far enough away Seth turned to look at Shayna. "Why did you do that?" He was clearly pissed off that she had sent them away. 

 

Shayna shrugged, before giving a half smile. "I can tell that you don't like Alexa. Why?" 

 

Seth thought about it for a moment. "She seems really fake and shallow. I don't know if I could get a good enough read on her. I just don't trust her." 

 

Shayna nodded slowly, she completely understood that. "I think there is something off about blondie, but we can't force Sasha to that conclusion. The best thing we can do to protect Sasha is keeping an eye on her." 

 

"I don't think she will like us spying on her though." Seth pointed out, he had learned that Sasha was very prickly when she felt even remotely cornered. 

 

"Okay then, sounds like we're going to have to be lowkey about it. Sasha doesn't tend to trust people from what I've seen, so we'll see what Alexa does to combat that." Shayna was really good at people watching, it was what had made her a great fighter in the different leagues. 

 

"On the off chance Sasha gets mad, I am blaming this on you," Seth said folding his arms across his chest. 

 

Shayna just rolled her eyes, the older girl wasn't afraid of anybody. "Go ahead, but just don't be so obvious with your heart eyes towards Sasha." 

 

"I do not have heart eyes." Seth hissed, scoffing at the idea even though his cheeks had started to heat up. 

\-----

"Charmeleon." The fire-type pokemon seemed to be happy to be out of his Pokeball. He was enjoying the sun and stretching out, which Sasha was fine with because it gave her a chance to train Lady and her Riolu. Charmeleon was lazing on the grass next to Alexa and her Persian that she had named Goddess. 

 

Riolu and Lady were circling each other as Sasha called out commands. She was frustrated and angry with her brother and it showed in the way she was pushing her pokemon. Sasha had them practicing their moves over and over again until they got them right. She wanted perfection, she wanted them to be the strongest that they could be. 

 

Alexa let this go on for a while, studying Sasha and her reactions before she finally cleared her throat. "Hey, why don't we take a break for a bit. Come drink some water, I think they could use the rest." 

 

Sasha shrugged her off. "They are fine, keep going." 

 

Riolu already looked gassed but was eager to please Sasha. Riolu lunged for Poochyena, but Lady dove out of the way and clamped down on Riolu's paw. The blue and black pokemon yelped, looking to Sasha who frowned and told Lady to let go. 

 

"I am sorry Riolu." Sasha mumble, kneeling down to check on her pokemon. Even Poochyena was licking Riolu's cheek to make up for hurting him. 

 

Alexa walked up behind Sasha and put a hand on her shoulder. "You can't always let your emotions rule you like that. Your pokemon can get hurt if you push them too hard, you don't want them to lose faith and trust in you." 

 

Sasha shuddered, feeling an overwhelming flood of emotion. She felt perpetually trapped in her brother's shadow and nothing she did seemed to be helping or getting her out of it. Sasha felt like she was failing at being a pokemon trainer. Tears leaked from the corner of her eyes, and she hurried wiped them away not wanting Alexa to see her crying. 

 

Alexa didn't look totally sure of herself, not used to being around people crying. She drew Sasha into a hug and gently rubbed her back. "I don't know you very well, but if you want to talk I can listen." 

 

"It's stupid." Sasha sniffled, wiping at her eyes again. "I just feel like I am not living up to potential. My brother is this great pokemon trainer but my parents only have time for him. Nothing I do ever measures up." 

 

The blonde gave a soft hum and then pulled away. "You want to know how I bonded with my Persian? I felt the same way you did, I poured everything into leaving the past behind. I made something out of myself, that my father and mother couldn't ignore. You can do the same, Sasha. Fake it until you make it, be bold, be..." Alexa trailed off for a moment, deep in thought. "Be the boss." 

 

"I don't know how to do that," Sasha said, staring down at the ground. She hated feeling vulnerable and insecure. 

 

Alexa moved away from her and rifled through her own backpack for a second. She emerged a few seconds later with some sunglasses. "Put these on Nobody will see you crying when you're standing over them in victory. Be brave Sasha, I know you can do it." Alexa said. 

 

Sasha tried on the sunglasses, trying to act more confident then she felt. She took a deep breath and then nodded. "I can do this." 

 

"Of course you can, you're the boss," Alexa promised, smiling proudly at Sasha. "Now if your Pokemon are ready, let's get back to training. We want your Pokemon to be extra strong for the Celadon city gym." 

 

Laughing for the first time in a long time, Sasha agreed. "Come on Chameleon. You're up, let's see what we can do. The next time we face Team Rocket, we’ll be ready." 

 

Charmeleon grunted but finally got to his feet. He gave Sasha a questioning look but then nodded his larger head. The pokemon was still eager to please Sasha even if they were both a little more rebellious now. It was like the Charmeleon tended to reflect whatever mood Sasha was in. 

 

For the next couple of hours, they kept up their training. Alexa even let Poochyena train again Goddess her Persian. It seemed that Goddess was very well trained, she looked regal and put together, but if Alexa issued a command, her pokemon would obey without hesitation. 

 

"How did you get your Persian again?" Sasha asked curiously as she and Alexa made their way back to Shayna and Seth. "It's really well trained." 

 

"We spent a lot of time together. I rescued her when she was just a little Meowth. Everybody looked down on us because we were smaller but with hard work, nobody messed with us. We become well known...in our town." Alexa awkwardly cleared her throat and ran her fingers through Persian's fur, the pokemon purred in delight. 

 

"It's about time you two got here," Baszler muttered, once Alexa and Sasha entered the clearing. Both Seth and Shayna had their hands up, and a quick glance around the camp told Sasha the reason. 

 

Officer Victoria was staring at them, a pack of young Growlithe and one huge Arcanine was at her side. "Nice of you two to join us. I was just questioning your friend on suspicious activity in the woods. Some trainers said they were robbed by a shifty-looking group in the woods. The four of you look shifty to me."

 

Sasha rolled her eyes skyward. "Ma'am we are not shifty looking. We are just passing through on our way to Celadon city." 

 

"What's your business in Celadon?" Victoria questioned, the officer stared down the end of her nose at Sasha, clearly mistrusting the girl from the get-go.

 

"I was told by an officer in Cerulean that there was a litter of Baby Growlithes in Celadon. I want one of my own someday." Sasha explained. 

 

Victoria didn't look impressed. "Why were you talking to my sister in Cerulean? Are you always getting into trouble? You do look like a trouble-maker." 

 

"Hey she is not a trouble-maker," Seth growled, not liking the way the officer was treating Sasha. "The reason she was talking to your sister is that Sasha saved a pokemon in Mt.Moon. Sasha was warning her of Team Rocket poaching Pokemon and stealing moonstones." 

 

Alexa picked this moment to interject. "Sasha is a good trainer and person, she's kind and gentle, she's not out to hurt anybody." 

 

Victoria took a moment to process the information. "You are working against Team Rocket? They are so annoying, more annoying than Grimer." She sighed softly and then nodded to her little pack of Growlithe's. "I am training them to be police dogs, but you see the one in the middle. He's having issues with his training. He would probably make a good companion dog." 

 

"What's wrong with his training?" Sasha asked, kneeling down and holding out a hand to the Growlithe. The pokemon started to come near her, but then got distracted by a passing Caterpie and started to run after it. Officer Victoria yanked on his leash and shook her head disapprovingly. 

 

"That is his problem. He is easily distracted, he's a good pokemon just in need of a lot of work." The officer replied with a sigh. "If you have the money you could buy him." She said telling Sasha the price. 

 

Sasha winced and frowned. "I'm sorry, I don't have that much. Maybe when I have enough I'll come back and get him." Sasha didn't want to use her parents' money. She could have used one of their emergency cards, but she didn't want to give them any reason to claim the Growlithe as their own. 

 

Baszler and Seth shared a look before Seth stepped forward. "I have the money for the Growlithe puppy. I'll pay for him and you can pay me back later." Seth said, pulling out his wallet. 

 

Baszler nodded her head. "I'll help too. We need to look out for each other, and Seth was telling me how much you wanted a Growlithe while you were gone." Shayna explained. 

 

Sasha felt her heart pounding with joy as the officer handed her the pokemon's leash. "Thank you, guys." She knelt down to greet the puppy who immediately kept licking her face. "He's going to get along well with Lady." 

 

"You should call him Lord Growlie." Alexa teased, her eyes sparkling with mischief.

 

"Growlie for short." Sasha mused, petting Growlie's head. 

 

Officer Victoria watched the exchange, before clearing her throat. "I should be on my way now. Good luck on your way to Celadon City, and if you see any of those pesky Team Rocket members, let me know,"

 

"We will," Alexa promised, glad to see the officer go. 

 

Sasha seemed to relax and let Lady, Riolu, Charmeleon and Psyduck out of their pokeballs so they could all meet Growlie. Growlie immediately began to play with Riolu and Lady. 

 

"It looks like you got your own little pack," Shayna commented. 

 

"They're like your hounds of justice as you hunt down Team Rocket." Seth seemed impressed. 

 

Alexa was unusually quiet but nobody seemed to notice. Sasha was so excited about her new Pokemon, that it seemed to be the only thing holding her attention.


	12. Welcome to Celadon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sasha and co finally make it to Celadon, but there seem to be some cracks in the group.

Sasha’s feet were hurting, they had been hurting for the past hour. Except she didn’t want to say anything, because none of her traveling companions were complaining. Sasha did her best to grit her teeth and bear it, but every step felt like it was rubbing the back of her heel raw and giving her a blister. 

 

Just ahead of her, Sasha had allowed her Riolu, Growlithe, and Poochyena to run and get some of their energy out. She was allowing Charmeleon and Psyduck to rest inside of their Pokeballs. She was rather proud of herself, she had five pokemon now and she loved her little team. They all seemed to work together quite nicely, which was what Sasha was trying to focus on, rather than the ache in her feet. 

 

For a brief moment, her thoughts drifted to her brother. She wondered if he had ever wanted to quit or felt discouraged in his journeys. Dwayne had never been the type to complain about things, according to her parents he was so perfect he should have been a saint. 

 

Scoffing, Sasha rolled her eyes, earning her a confused look from Shayna who was walking beside her. Even thinking about her brother made Sasha defensive, she had always felt trapped in his shadow. 

 

“You okay there Boss?” Alexa asked from her position at the front of the group. She had claimed to know the way to Celadon City and had taken turns with Seth leading the way to the city. 

 

“Yeah, my feet are hurting a bit. How much further?” Sasha asked, stopping and rubbing her heels. They were angry and she had some blisters now. 

 

“Almost there, probably ten more minutes,” Seth answered, a thoughtful expression on his face. 

 

Sasha groaned and sat down. “I just need a rest for a moment.” 

 

“Want me to carry you?” Shayna asked wiggling her eyebrows. 

 

Shayna had been joking but Sasha gave her an uneasy smile. Shayna was freakishly strong and powerful, but Sasha wasn’t sure she’d enjoy being carried by the older girl. Shayna was awesome but also intimidating, so Sasha figured she’d take her chances on her own. 

 

"I could carry you." Seth offered, not wanting to be shown up by Shayna. 

 

Sasha frowned and shook her head. "Um, I don't need to be carried. I'm fine." Sasha insisted, not wanting them to fight over her. She wasn't helpless and she figured if she gave her feet a rest, she'd be fine to walk the rest of the way. 

 

Alexa had walked back to join them and knelt next to Sasha, offering her some water from her canteen. The more time they spent together, Sasha realized that Alexa seemed prepared for just about anything. The blonde might have been small, but apparently, she thrived on being underestimated. 

 

Being underestimated was something that Sasha understood well, compared to her brother she might as well have been invisible. People had never expected Sasha to be anything great, well except for Bayley. For some reason or another, her friend from Pallet town had always believed in her when Sasha didn't believe in herself. It was strange, but it was one of the reasons that Sasha had appreciated Bayley.

 

"Do you want some band-aids for your blisters. It'll protect them from rubbing against the heel of your shoe." Alexa offered, digging in her pack and offering some medicine and bandaids to Sasha. 

 

Sasha gave her a grateful smile, beginning to rub the medicine carefully on to her aching heels. "You're kind of useful to have around Alexa."

 

Alexa smirked at the praise and gave a light shrug. "What can I say, I'm a literal goddess." She joked, winking at Sasha. 

 

Sasha found herself smiling in return and feeling lighter than she had in a while. She turned her attention to her pokemon were chasing each other and playing. "I'm excited to finally be getting to Celadon City." 

 

Seth nodded in agreement. "It'll be nice, I can show you all some of the cool places in town."

 

"For some reason, I think our definition of cool places differs." Shayna deadpanned, giving Seth a critical look. 

 

Seth scowled at her but refused to let Shayna keep him down. "They have a lot of really cool things to do in Celadon." He insisted, clearly wanting to use his expertise to impress Sasha. 

 

"Well when we get to the city, I'd love to see the different places," Sasha said, trying to play the peacemaker. The only thing that Shayna and Seth didn't argue about, was their distrust of Alexa. Sasha felt like she spent most of her time, keeping everybody moving and not bickering. 

 

She gave her aching feet a few more minutes of rest before she got back to her feet. Sasha was a very driven individual and she didn't like wasting her time sitting on the sidelines. She had somehow become the unofficial leader of her group, but it wasn't a thing that she took lightly. 

 

Leading the way towards Celadon City, Sasha was grateful when the dense forest began to lessen and clear up. The ground general began smoother and paved, making it easier for Sasha to walk. She recalled her pokemon, putting them in their pokeballs. Some of the towns didn't like pokemon roaming free without leashes. 

 

Sasha was just crossing into the town when a familiar face appeared in front of her. Officer Victoria was giving her a look that made Sasha want to flinch and cower, which was something Sasha wasn't used too. 

 

"I see you and your friends finally made it. What took you so long to get here?" The officer asked, her tone far more accusatory than Sasha would have liked. 

 

"Sasha got blisters and we had to take a break," Alexa interjected, coming to Sasha's aid. The diminutive blonde had crossed her arms defiantly, ready to throw down if necessary. 

 

Shooting the blonde girl an appreciative smile, Sasha nodded. "Yeah, if you want I'll show you my feet, but I have blistered from all the walking." 

 

The officer still didn't trust them very much, but glaring down at Sasha's shoes, she shrugged. "You should buy better shoes for your adventuring. Welcome to Celadon City, don't make any trouble, I'll be keeping an eye on you." The officer said, finally letting them past. 

 

"What a jerk," Shayna grumbled, not used to such treatment. 

 

"Let's just keep going, we don't want to give the officer a reason to detain us any longer," Seth said, pushing the group of girls further into the town. He didn't know what Officer Victoria's problem was, but he felt the further they traveled, the more hostile the officers were being and he didn't know why. 

 

Alexa rolled her eyes but allowed Seth to guide them towards the Pokemon center. Sasha took the opportunity to set down some of her heavy supplies and rest her pokemon. Her feet were still aching, but as she slipped on some more comfortable shoes, she let out a contented sigh. 

 

"I am going to go scope out the gym situation. I want to be prepared, so I can help you train." Shayna said she had taken it upon herself to help Sasha beat the different gyms. 

 

Alexa nodded as well. "I have some friends in town that I want to catch up with. I'll see you guys in a while, afterward we can explore the department store, get you some better shoes." Alexa seemed almost disappointed at the fact that the last shoes she had gotten Sasha had hurt the girl. 

 

Sasha nodded and let them go, finding herself alone with just Seth. The duo hadn't spent much time alone since adding both Shayna and Alexa to their group. Sasha found herself struggling to come up with things to talk about, she knew that Seth didn't really get along with Alexa and even butted heads with Shayna sometimes. 

 

"Do you regret traveling with me?" Sasha asked, unable to keep the words from slipping out. 

 

Seth who had been messing with his backpack glanced up sharply. He was caught off guard by the question and cleared his throat to buy more time. "Of course not, I don't regret traveling with you." 

 

"Well, so far we've ended up getting attacked at a gym, stopped by the police several times..." She trailed off, trying to not be so open about questioning Seth's motivations and intentions. 

 

Running a hand through his hair, mussing it up a bit, Seth shrugged. "Look, I didn't start traveling with you because I thought things were going to be easy. Yeah, we have run into some trouble, but it's been fun. We've seen a lot of cool things and I respect your ambition. You want to be the best in the region but you also want to stop Team Rocket, our goals line up." Seth said. 

 

He was equally as motivated to stop Team Rocket, plus the more that he traveled with Sasha, the more he realized that she needed friends. As headstrong as Sasha was, it was crystal clear to him, that if she didn't have people with her, she'd shut in on herself. 

 

Sasha was studying him in a way that made Seth's skin crawl, but he held still. He had nothing to hide and if it took time for Sasha to trust him then so be it. Seth met her gaze, unflinchingly staring right back at her until Sasha was the one who looked away. 

 

"So if this is your home town, are you going to let us meet your family?" Sasha asked, her gaze narrowing as she studied the ground.

 

Seth blinked before nodding before his gaze darkened. "Um, it's just my mom. My dad and my brother moved away, but I can see if my mom is up to the company." 

 

Sasha was curious about what he meant but decided not to press. She didn't like when other people asked about her family, so she was sensitive to when people didn't want to discuss their own families.

 

"How are your feet feeling, do you still feel like you're about to bust a blister?" Seth asked, hoping that she would feel a little better. 

 

"They still hurt, but being off of them for a bit has helped," Sasha said, before trailing off as Nurse Molly handed her pokemon on a tray back to her. She thanked the nurse and attached the Pokeballs back to her belt. Having her Pokemon nearby made Sasha feel a whole lot better. 

 

"Would you maybe like to go check out the Gaming Corner later? It's like an arcade almost and it's fun." Seth offered, hoping to spend a little bit more time with Sasha before they were once again joined by Alexa and Shayna. He wanted to spend some quality time with her, just the two of them. 

 

Sasha, however, didn't quite understand that Seth wanted it to be just the two of them and smiled. "Sure, just let me text the girls and let them know where we'll be. I am sure they'd like to play some arcade games too." 

 

Seth grimaced, having to force himself not to grind his teeth together. Shayna was irritating sometimes, but it was Alexa who got under his skin. At least Shayna had the nerve to say stuff to his face, Alexa's petty comments under her breath, aggravated Seth to no end. 

 

"Sure, go ahead and invite them," Seth said, trying to stifle his agitation. He was starting to miss hanging out with the guys he had met back in Cerulean City. He had realized that hanging out with just Sasha and her group of girls was more drama than he cared to be around. 

 

"Are you okay?" Sasha asked, finally picking up on his mood swing. 

 

"Don't worry about it, I'm fine." Seth lied, he didn't want to bring it up to Sasha. He had come to realize that most women liked to run in packs since it made them feel safer. "I was just hoping we could have a little quality time, me and you. We haven't got to hang out just us since you got to Cerulean City." 

 

Sasha gave him a sympathetic look, it hadn't been all that long, probably only a week or two, but it had felt like much longer. So much had happened, with the attack on the Cerulean City Gym, meeting up with Bayley and Becky again, then going off to find Team Rocket. Then the duo had, of course, met up with Shayna and Alexa, so Sasha could see why Seth was a bit irritated. 

 

"How about this, you can show me the Gaming Corner, and we'll hang out just us." Sasha offered, trying to make him feel better. "Then after a while, if we want to, we can invite the others?" 

 

Seth nodded his head. "That sounds reasonable, I just need a break from them." 

 

"You don't need a break from me?" Sasha asked, arching a brow. 

 

Seth merely chuckled. "Not yet, but if you push my buttons enough I might." 

 

"You're so weird. Now come on, show me the place before I change my mind." Sasha said, kind of excited to just take her mind of things and play the arcade games with Seth.


	13. Training with the Basz

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sasha gets some training help in order to win the Rainbow badge, after the match she runs into a familiar face who needs help.

Sasha Banks had to admit that she loved a good fight, whether it be Pokemon battles or actually fighting. She had learned to verbally spar with the best of them. Shayna had been training Sasha for a good couple of days before Sasha felt she was ready to take on the gym in Celadon city. 

 

Seth and Alexa had actually been the ones to talk her into battling for a badge and taking a few days off from hunting down leads about Team Rocket. Sasha had reluctantly agreed, which was why she had been training with Baszler. Sasha was confident that she could win the badge, but Shayna wasn’t going to let her slack on practicing. 

 

“Who is the gym leader of the Celadon City Gym?” Shayna asked, while her Hitmonchan battled Sasha’s Charmeleon. 

 

Sasha’s brows knitted together in concentration as she watched Charmeleon circling Hitmonchan. “The gym leader is Asuka.” 

 

“Very good, what pokemon make up Asuka’s team?” Shayna asked while ordering Hitmonchan to strike at the other pokemon. 

 

“Charmeleon dodge,” Sasha commanded, trying to think. She was actually stumped for a moment, which was more than enough time for Shayna to attack. Shayne swept Sasha’s feet out from under her, causing the magenta haired trainer to land roughly on her back with a grunt, knocking the air out of her. 

 

“What the heck Shayna?” Sasha gasped in disbelief, trying to suck in as much air as she could. 

 

Shayna stared down at her with unforgiving eyes, before finally extending a hand to help her up. “You need to always stay focused.”

 

Sasha frowned, wanting to point out that not only was she already multitasking, but that Shayna was way more experience than her. It irritated her a little bit that Shayna never seemed to compliment the good work that she did. She smacked the older girl's hand away and got to her feet. 

 

"Are you going to answer my question?" Shayna asked, looking bored now. 

 

Sasha dusted herself off and nodded. "Asuka has three pokemon on her team. She has Victreebell, Tangela, and Vileplume." Sasha answered, before folding her arms across her chest. "Since her pokemon are grass type and I have Charmeleon, I have the type advantage." 

 

"Which of your pokemon should you use if you don't have Charmeleon?" Shayna was pushing Sasha's buttons on purpose. She saw a lot of potential in Sasha, but she wanted to make sure Sasha worked hard and didn't just rely on natural talent. 

 

"I would use Lady," Sasha answered before Shayna tried to wrestle her back to the ground. Sasha saw it coming this time, but Shayna was bigger and stronger and found herself flat on her back again. "Would you please stop doing that." Sasha snapped, shoving Shayna off of her roughly. 

 

"Poochyena is a great pokemon, but that's the wrong answer, Sasha. You should use your Growlithe, he is a fire-type. You need to know all your pokemon strengths and weaknesses if you're going to be a great trainer." Shayna chided, before calling off Hitmonchan who was about to beat a distracted Charmeleon.

 

Sasha wanted to scream, her frustration bubbling up under the surface. She recalled Charmeleon, wanting to give him a rest. "You're such a butthead sometimes." 

 

Shayna rolled her eyes at Sasha's immature comeback. "A butthead, really? Look I like you Sasha, but I'm not going to suck up to you as Seth and Alexa do. I don't care who your brother is or what your last name is. I want to help you be the best, you're gifted, but you lose focus easily. You do that in an actual battle and you'll lose." Shayna replied, cutting right to the bottom line.

 

Although she knew that Shayna was right, pride kept Sasha from admitting it. Instead, she simply gave a nod of understanding but kept quiet. 

 

The elder trainer just stared her down, before turning away from her. "You should eat before your match." She called, before trudging back to camp, leaving Sasha in the dust. 

 

\---

It turned out that Shayna's lessons actually had some merit to them. During Sasha's match against Asuka, the gym leader had managed to finally beat Charmeleon, and it was only thanks to Growlithe that Sasha was able to put the gym leader away. As much as she wanted to complain about the way that Baszler insisted on training, she couldn't deny that her methods were effective. Shayna insisted on training to block out all excess noise and to keep the focus on the battle and task at hand. 

 

That was why when Sasha finally got handed her Rainbow Badge by Asuka, the first person she hugged and thanked was Shayna. Sasha could feel Shayna stiffening against her embrace but she didn't care. 

 

"Thank you for helping me train and win the badge. I couldn't have done it without you." Sasha admitted, squeezing Baszler tighter. 

 

Shayna's eyes widened and she patted Sasha's back quickly, before clearing her throat. "Please let go of me."

 

"I don't tend to hug people, enjoy it." Sasha snapped back. 

 

"Sasha if you don't release me, I'm going to drop you," Shayna warned, shifting uncomfortably when Sasha finally released her. "You're welcome by the way, I knew you could do it." Shayna almost had a look of pride in her eyes, as she excused herself to go talk with Asuka. 

 

"Way to go Sash." Alexa cheered, as she and Seth exited the stands and went to congratulate their friend. She took the badge from Sasha and pinned it to the girl's coat. 

 

Seth was grinning ear to ear. "Way to go Banksy. You are one step closer to being a league champion. It looks good on you." 

 

Sasha blushed and ducked her head shyly at her friend's praise. "I appreciate you guys believing in me. I am pretty lucky, come on let's go celebrate. I'll collect my winner's purse and then we can go get some food at the Game Corner, my treat." 

 

Alexa giggled at that. "It would be nice to have some good food." 

 

Seth patted his stomach. "You can count me in, this growing boy has got to eat." 

 

Sasha laughed and looked over her shoulder at Baszler. "You coming with us, Basz?"

 

"I'll be there in a bit, save me a seat," Shayna called, before turning back to her conversation with Asuka. 

 

Alexa and Seth spent the walk over chatting Sasha's ear off about the battle highlights. It made Sasha's insides burn with pride to know that she had a group of supportive friends. It was even weird to admit that she had friends because prior to meeting Seth all she had was Bayley. 

 

As they went around the back of the Game Corner to get to the front, a flash of orange hair caught Sasha's attention. Sasha paused, blinking in confusion before she backed up a couple of paces. 

 

Leaning against the outside wall was a very disoriented Becky Lynch. Sasha's friend had stopped walking by this point and followed her gaze.

 

"Isn't that your friend?" Seth asked, confusion lacing his tone.

 

"She's not my friend," Sasha said not even hesitating. Becky was slumped over and staring at her hands. A part of Sasha was telling her to just leave it alone, but she knew that Bayley would never forgive her if she didn't at least check and make sure Becky was okay. "Lynch, you okay?" 

 

Becky's head lifted at the sound of her last name, but just barely. She let out a groan of pain, mumbling something that sounded like 'Pikachu' but otherwise didn't move. 

 

Sasha frowned and walked over, it was only once she was close that she realized there was dried blood on Becky's face. The redhead's face was swollen and her nose was clearly broken, but it was the unfocused eyes that worried Sasha. She knelt down in front of Becky and cupped the girl's face, forcing Becky to meet her eyes. 

 

"What happened to your face?" Sasha asked, trying to get answers from Becky. She was surprised to see Becky without her Pikachu, but she didn't see any of Becky's pokemon around. "Where's your yellow mouse?"

 

"They took him," Becky answered weakly. 

 

Sasha scrunched up her face, trying to make sense of Becky's words. "They took who, Becky?" 

 

The next words out of Becky's mouth, made Sasha's blood run ice cold. 

 

"Pikachu, Team Rocket stole him."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have a feeling that Sasha is going to have to help out Becky. That duo is like fire and gasoline, so we'll see what happens and if they end up traveling together.


	14. The enemy of my enemy is my...frenemy?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sasha has to deal with the fall out of helping Becky Lynch.

Sasha wasn’t sure what she had been expecting when she stopped to help Becky. She certainly wasn’t expecting to end up taking the girl to the hospital. Everything felt like a blur and Sasha was doing her best to process it all. It wasn’t like she cared about Becky, the last time she saw the women she had smacked her. 

 

She recalled the moment in question, thinking back to when they had visited Bayley in Cerulean City after their mutual friend had gotten hurt. Becky had always been good at hitting Sasha’s buttons. Sasha found herself lost in the memory of it.

 

-  
 _  
Once Becky, Sasha and their two male companions left, the girls couldn’t get away from each other fast enough. Becky still didn’t trust Sasha and that was evident by the way she kept side-eyeing her._

_“Why are you looking at me like that?” Sasha grumbled, jamming her finger against the down button on the elevator._

_“I don’t get you, I thought you didn’t care about Bayley, why did you come?” Becky asked, ignoring the way Finn was already reaching for her elbow to pull her back._

_“Are we really going to go over this again?” Sasha asked, already irritated from their argument earlier outside the hospital._

_Becky nodded, ready to hold the elevator at a stand-still until she got the answers she wanted. “Yes, we are going to do this again. I don’t want to see Bayley get hurt, you didn’t want to come earlier, so what changed your mind.”_

_Sasha stamped her foot on the ground, frustration boiling underneath her skin. “Maybe I am not all sunshine and rainbows like you Lynch, maybe I don’t express myself in the clingy way you do, but I do care about Bayley.”_

_“You have a funny way of showing it.” Becky shot back sarcastically._

_“I was friends with Bayley, long before you were Becky. Maybe I made a mistake by walking out, but at least I am capable of standing on my own two feet. At least I have proven I can be something without her, all you are is a leech. Clinging desperately to Bayley because nobody else wants you. I bet your little boyfriend doesn’t even want you, he only pities you.” Sasha said harshly._

_It was like the dam had broken, Becky had kept pushing at Sasha’s buttons and now she was going to pay for it. It was too late to stop Sasha because she had gotten on a roll._

_“You want to know something Becky? All you are is a reject, I’d feel sorry for you, but I think Bayley feels sorry enough for the both of us.” Sasha spat._

_Becky flinched, Sasha’s words hitting some nerves and some of her insecurities. “Shut up Sasha.”_

_“Make me,” Sasha said, shoving Becky’s shoulders._

_“At least my parents wanted me. I may be a reject, but at the very least my parents acknowledge that I exist and love me. Who is the real reject, Sasha?” Becky shouted angrily._

_Sasha’s eyes widened and without thinking, she lashed out and struck Becky hard across the face. She stared at stinging hand in shock, before shoving past Finn and Seth to get out of the elevator. ‘_

__  
\--

 

Shaking her head to clear the memory, Sasha sighed. She felt like she had grown up a little bit since then, it hadn't been all that long ago, but Sasha knew that Bayley would want her to move on and be nice. With Team Rocket out there, Sasha already had enough enemies. 

 

Sasha managed to tune back into the conversation to see that Seth had picked up Becky. She didn't like the way that he was cradling Becky as if she was going to break, a flare of jealousy welling up in Sasha. It irritated her that Seth had sent Alexa and Shayna away to go get help, clearly, he was better at taking charge than she was. 

 

Sasha had to fight to keep a grimace off her face as she saw Becky burying her head into Seth's neck and mumble something about not feeling good. Sasha partially wondered if perhaps the redhead was milking her injuries a little bit, just to get a rise out of her. 

 

"It's going to be okay," Seth said soothingly. "You think Team Rocket took your Pikachu?"

 

"I don't think, I know they did. They shot me in the leg with a tranquilizer dart and then stole my Pikachu. I don't want them to hurt him." Becky's bottom lip began to tremble. 

 

Sasha had to fight the urge to keep from gagging at the display in front of her. She cleared her throat. "We'll help you find him, but we need to get you checked out first. Your face looks a raccoon." Sasha commented, her tone a bit sharper than she meant it to be.

 

Seth arched a brow at Sasha, reprimanding her with a look that almost had Sasha apologizing...almost.

 

"What Sasha means to say is they gave you quite the shiner when they broke your nose. You'll be okay." Seth repeated, carrying Becky in his arms towards the hospital.

 

"Sasha says a lot of mean stuff, it's how she communicates." Becky snorted and then hissed in pain.

 

Sasha did not appreciate the two of them ganging up on her. She stomped her foot to the ground, grumbling under her breath. "At least I came to rescue you, I'm not Bayley but she would have killed me for leaving you," Sasha said, crossing her arms over her chest as she followed after Becky and Seth.

 

When they finally got to the hospital, the medics took Becky back, leaving Sasha and Seth by themselves. They were soon joined by Shayna who had been the one to run ahead and tell the doctors that they needed help. 

 

"Well, I did not expect that to happen," Seth muttered, collapsing in a seat next to Sasha. 

 

Sasha rolled her eyes and shrugged. "I am just glad she's okay, but you better not tell her I said that." 

 

Shayna glanced between the two and tilted her head. "Am I missing something here?" 

 

"Oh that's right you hadn't joined us yet. Apparently, Sasha and Becky can't stand each other. Last time they were in a hospital together, Sasha hit Becky." Seth explained, trying to fill Shayna in on the gossip. 

 

Scowling at her friend, Sasha lightly punched him in the arm. "Shut up about that. Look she's here and safe, we can probably just go. I'll send Bayley an email about Becky being in the hospital, but it's not my problem anymore." 

 

"You're going to leave her?" Shayna seemed surprised by that. "I mean I get that you don't like her, but I'd hate to be left by myself after I just got jumped." 

 

"I hate to agree with Shayna, but in this case I do. We can't leave her Sasha, she needs our help. We can help her track her Pikachu and catch up to Team Rocket." Seth pointed out, trying to appeal to Sasha's kinder side. 

 

Before Sasha could rebuttal or even offer up an argument, the doors to the hospital were roughly shoved open. Officer Victoria was shoving Alexa in, in front of her. The officer was glaring daggers at Sasha. 

 

"I thought I warned the four of you about getting into trouble in my town." Victoria snapped, her Growlithe was at her side growling quietly. 

 

"Oh my god, really? We were doing the right thing! We saw an injured person and we helped them." Sasha said, growing tired of always being falsely accused by the officer. 

 

"Likely story, how do I know you didn't beat her up?" Victoria questioned, stepping forward to get in Sasha's face. 

 

Sasha had to take a deep breath, she hated people getting in her face. She knew that if she lashed out, it was only going to cause trouble. "Listen here Officer, I did not hurt Becky. Check the Game Corner security cameras, I was winning a gym badge when she got attacked. You can ask Asuka, she's the gym leader!"

 

Victoria looked like she'd rather eat a jar of mayonnaise then actually clear Sasha's name. "I'll ask the victim who attacked her, but if she says you, you can bet I'm taking you in," Victoria said, before shoulder-checking Sasha as she walked past. 

 

Shayna and Seth both grabbed Sasha around the waist, preventing the temperamental trainer from attacking the officer. Sasha wanted to scream and throw things but managed to rein in her temper at the last second. 

 

"That officer really is a pain in the neck," Alexa muttered, rubbing her arm where the officer had left a handprint. The blonde looked as ticked off as Sasha felt. 

 

"We just need to remain calm, we didn't do anything," Seth said, trying to keep the trio of girls from doing something stupid like attacking a city official. 

 

The hospital doors opened again and another familiar face walked in. Sasha studied the boy, recognizing him from Cerulean city. "Isn't that Becky's friend?" 

 

Seth turned and then his face lit up. "Finn!" 

 

Finn spun around at the sound of his name being called. "Seth, what are you doing here? I'm looking for Becky, have you seen her?" 

 

Sasha jerked her thumb back in the direction of the hospital rooms. "She's in there, being interviewed by an officer. She got jumped by Team Rocket." 

 

A girl to Finn's right who looked to Sasha like she caked on dark make-up, frowned. "We found her Graveler and her Luxio." 

 

"Yeah, Ruby's right, when we found them we got worried. Did she have her Pikachu?" Finn asked, knowing how much Pikachu meant to Becky. 

 

Sasha hesitated, not sure how much she should reveal. A piece of her was thinking that she should just take her friends and leave, Becky's friends were there now, Sasha didn't think she was needed. "No, Team Rocket took Pikachu."

 

Finn exchanged a sad look with Ruby. "Becky is probably worried sick." 

 

"She was pretty out of it when we brought her in. Team Rocket did a number on her." Seth interjected, saving Sasha from having to answer.

 

"Do you think we can see her? I want to make sure she's okay." Ruby questioned, sounding concerned.

 

Sasha shrugged. "I'll go ask for you." She then turned, wanting to get away from the conversation. It was an odd thing to see friends actually caring about Becky, Sasha doubted any of her new friends would care that much about her. Jealousy once again pricked at Sasha. 

 

Sasha knocked on the door, staring down the officer. "Hey Becky, your friends are here. They brought your pokemon." 

 

Becky looked pleased to see Sasha, but Sasha just chalked that up to the redhead wanting to get away from Officer Victoria. Honestly, she didn't blame the nerd for wanting to be done with the conversation, the officer was a real piece of work. 

 

"Finn and Ruby?" Becky asked, visibly brightening as she asked about her friends.

 

Sasha hesitated not really remembering their names. "One looks like she buys all of her clothes from the emo store and then the boy you were with last time."

 

"Yeah, that'd be them. Can you send them in?" Becky's tone had taken on a pleading edge to it. 

 

"We weren't done talking." Officer Victoria interjected, clearly miffed at being ignored.

 

"Look, lady, leave her alone." Sasha snapped, eyes narrowing. Sasha was irritated now, she didn't like the way that Becky was being talked to. 

 

Victoria looked like she had sucked on a sour grape. "Fine, don't leave town before we get a chance to talk again." She said in reference to Becky, before stomping out of the room.

 

Sasha clenched her jaw, her fist balling at her side. "Good riddance! God, I really hate that lady." She had a few more choice words but she let them slide for now.

 

The inventor chuckled quietly. "Here I thought I was the only one on your hit list, Sasha."

 

Sasha cracked a hint of a smile. If she was being truthful, Becky wasn't the only one on her list. Sasha had a lot of people that drove her crazy or that she was jealous of. Not that she would ever admit she was jealous of anybody. 

 

"Sorry, you're not that special Lynch. I'll send your friends in." Sasha promised, turning to leave. She wanted to get out of there before she ended up ruining her rep by being soft. Sasha felt like she had already done her good deed for the month.

 

"Sasha wait," Becky paused, clearly thinking something over. "Thank you for rescuing me. I know we don't get along, but I'm glad it was you who found me."

 

Eyes widening in shock, Sasha looked uncomfortable at the praise as if she was unsure of how to take it. "Sure, don't make a big deal out of it. It was nothing, besides I did it more for Bayley. She'd want me to play nice." Sasha deflected, feeling her icy demeanor starting to crack. 

 

"Of course." Becky just gave a knowing nod, deciding not to push her luck with Sasha. She watched the other trainer quickly scramble from the room, wondering where this new side of Sasha had come from.

 

Sasha was thankful to finally be out of the room. She hadn't forgiven Becky for the comments back in Cerulean City. Maybe if they could put aside their past they'd be able to get along, but Sasha wasn't confident that they could do that. 

 

Walking back to the lobby, she sent Ruby and Finn in to be with Becky. Sasha then turned her focus to her own group of friends. "Come on, let's go eat I'm starving." 

 

"What about Becky?" Seth asked, wondering if they were just going to leave. 

 

"I have a feeling she'll be here tomorrow. I want to catch Team Rocket, I have some unfinished business with those losers. We'll offer to help them." 

 

Alexa was unusually withdrawn. "Are you sure you want to pursue them? Is that really wise Sasha?" 

 

"I think it's kind of noble," Shayna interjected, liking that Sasha wasn't being selfish and that the younger trainer was thinking of others.

 

"I was never accused of being wise or noble. We'll offer to help Becky get her Pikachu back, I may not like her all that much, but I know she'd help me if somebody took Charmeleon." Sasha said before her stomach rumbled. "But first we eat."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, Sasha and Becky potentially working together. This could be an interesting dynamic.

**Author's Note:**

> Sasha is off on her own adventure now, desperate to get out of her brother's shadow and be her own woman. How far is she willing to go to prove that she is the future of the region? I appreciate every one of you who is taking the time to read, make sure to check out the other stories in this series and follow along with your favorite horsewomen.


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